Stephen Copen – Renters Alliance

156 South Reeves: Another Case Study in Neglect and Hazard

October 25, 2019November 23, 2019 Mark Elliot 156 S Reeves, maintenance, neglect, Stephen Copen

Beverly Hills landlord Stephen Copen’s properties are often an object lesson to fellow landlords: When we neglect to repair our residential rental property the inevitable result will be deterioration, decay, and ultimately, a hazard we visit upon our community. That’s the lesson we can all take from 156 South Reeves today. Just take a look at that overhead garage door that fronts on Charleville. It has deteriorated so significantly that it now sags and menaces passersby with exposed, rusty nails. How did it come to this?

News

Stop Work Order at 201 South Reeves

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 Mark Elliot 201 S Reeves, Stephen Copen, unpermitted work

When you wake to the sound of a Sunday-morning demolition you might wonder whether the landlord has a permit for that work. But when your landlord is Dr. Stephen Copen you can rest assured: of course he has no permit! We remembered this lesson when the sledgehammer-and-pickaxe demolition commenced at 8 a.m. That must mean another Copen low-budget, under-the-radar job should meet an untimely end with a stop-work order.

News

SoCalGas to Copen Tenants: It’s Up to You!

February 7, 2019June 22, 2019 Mark Elliot 152 S Reeves, landlords, Reeves Drive, Stephen Copen

Here is the message that SoCalGas has for Dr. Stephen Copen’s tenants at 152 South Reeves: pay up the $1,359 your landlord owes or we’ll shut off your gas. It should come as no real surprise to any resident in his 12-unit apartment building. Helpfully this NOTICE TO TENANTS lets residents know that they could take this burden off the landlord by assuming “individual or joint responsibility” for the account and be on the hook for money and then deduct it from the rent.

Commentary

No-Cause Evicted After 29 Years at 458 South Roxbury

April 16, 2018June 22, 2019 Mark Elliot no-just-cause eviction, Roxbury Drive, Stephen Copen

Landlord Stephen Copen served tenant David Berke and his his two sons with a 60-day, no-just-cause notice to evict after they had lived for 29 years in this apartment. The Berkes will join his upstairs neighbor whom Copen evicted after 30 years in her home. This is why

Commentary

When Landlords Put Profit Before Maintenance

December 19, 2017June 9, 2019 Mark Elliot 200 S Reeves, habitability standard, maintenance, Reeves Drive, Stephen Copen

Beverly Hills residents take well-kept properties for granted. High-and-rising values generate resources for maintenance and, in turn, maintenance keeps property values up. But maintenance is not part of the business model for some owners of residential rental property. Instead their priority is cash flow. But scrimping on maintenance not only affects tenants; it also augurs an overall decline in the city’s rental housing stock. Let’s take an example!