Watermark, Kayne Anderson: Stop the Mass Eviction of Elderly Residents

Elderly residents, including folks in their 90s and 100s, living in Westwood Horizon retirement facilities are being evicted by the new building owners ‐ Watermark and Kayne Anderson ‐ in pursuit of transforming the rent controlled facility into luxury retirement units.

On December 1, 2016, the new owners of this large retirement community in Westwood (Watermark Retirement Communities and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors) posted eviction notices on the doors of more than 100 residents in preparation for a major overhaul of the property that they assert will transform it into a luxury residential care facility. These eviction notices, given pursuant to a state law known as the Ellis Act, gave the elderly residents 120 days to vacate, even though the law requires 1‐year notice for seniors ‐ information that Watermark withheld. Public pressure forced the new owners to say they will delay the evictions until November 2017, which the owners have now conceded was required by the state law all along.

For the elderly residents who still face certain eviction and scare tactics brought about by building ownership, the fight is far from over. Aside from the lack of available housing county‐wide, the elderly tenants ‐ many of whom are in their 90s and 100s ‐ are distraught knowing their communities will be torn apart. Their demand is that building renovations be done in phases, allowing them to remain in the building. This is the way developers who care about their senior tenants handle major remodeling in Los Angeles.