SANTA BARBARA, Calif - After a series of rental disputes, tenants at the West Beach apartments located at 215 Bath Street announced they will go on a rent strike until their demands are met.
In a letter written by the 215 Bath Tenant Association and shared with Your News Channel, they explain how numerous acts of negligence, disruption from construction, removal of amenities, and threats of evictions have forced them into action.
The rent strike will begin February 1st.
"Our association and its members are united in this: we would like nothing more than to return to a state where all concerned continually meet our obligations, but you continue to fail to uphold your end of the bargain. For these reasons, we will collectively withhold our rent payments until our reasonable and legally-supported list of demands has been met." - Letter from the 215 Bath Street Tenant Association
Tensions began back in September 2023 when new owners - James Knapp, Austin Herlihy, and Chris Parker- took over the 52-unit property and started handing out eviction notices to longtime tenants.
After some residents received eviction notices, the City of Santa Barbara filed criminal charges against property manager James Knapp alleging he terminated tenancy without just cause, failed to comply with the City's Just Cause Ordinance, and failed to serve proper permits.
In response, Knapp filed a civil suit against the City of Santa Barbara and on Friday, Jan. 31, a hearing over those civil claims was held.
According to Knapp's attorney Robert Forouzandeh, "the Civil Court ruled [Friday] that it will not consider or rule on the merits of the civil case until after the criminal case against Mr. Knapp is concluded."
Mr. Knapp and the City of Santa Barbara are due in court over those misdemeanor charges on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.