By Lookout Staff

February 26, 2025 -- A Santa Monica landlord and her son must pay a total of $450,000 to settle separate tenant harassment cases filed by the City and the defendants who lived in a rent-controlled apartment.

The stipulated judgment and injunction against Nahid Jahanbin and her son, Alexander Khazai, who acted as her agent and property manager, was signed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein on February 6.

In its lawsuit, the City alleged the Defendants "engaged in a campaign of harassment against a family of four with two young children, trying to drive them out of their long-term rent-controlled home" at 1745 Franklin Street, according to the City Attorney's office.

"The allegations include four bad faith baseless evictions, shutting off utilities (and) filming the tenants and their children without their consent," the City Attorney's Office said.

They also include "an unlawful forced entry and entries without proper notice or consent, bad faith removal of parking and laundry amenities, and using fraud and intimidation to try to pressure the family to move out."

According to the judgment, "Defendants deny their liability; nevertheless, after good faith negotiations between the parties and their attorneys, the parties agreed to resolve the matter through a Stipulated Judgment."

As a part of the settlement with the city and a separate settlement resolving the tenants’ private lawsuit, the defendants agreed to:

• Pay $450,000, including $40,000 to the City that includes attorneys’ fees and costs of investigation or litigation.
  
  
• No longer manage any residential rental property in Santa Monica and hire a city-approved third-party property manager to manage any residential rental property they own in the city.
  
  
• Attend a city-approved landlord-tenant training.
  
  
• Pay a minimum penalty of $10,000 per violation if they are found to violate the agreement.

Under the terms of the judgment, the owner also "must comply with the city’s tenant protection laws, including the Tenant Harassment Ordinance, the Rent Control Law and the law regulating entry into tenants’ homes."

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles represented the tenants in defending the four evictions, City officials said.

In addition, the tenants brought a private lawsuit in which the City intervened in their behalf, according to the injunction in the private lawsuit.

“Every family deserves dignity, respect and stability in their home,” said City Attorney Doug Sloan. “That’s why we take every case of tenant harassment seriously. This continues our long tradition of strong enforcement of tenant protection laws.”