The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has sued a landlord accused of ordering every tenant in an eight-unit apartment building to clear out just five days after he closed on the property, according to a lawsuit filed by the office of City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto. The complaint accuses landlord Femi G. Olanipekun of trying to empty out the building at 4301 Woodlawn Ave. and 120 E. 43rd St. in the Historic South-Central neighborhood so he could re-rent the units at higher prices, then making life difficult for residents who didn’t leave on his timeline.
Key Points
- Olanipekun bought the eight-unit complex on October 29, 2025, and within five days allegedly told every tenant to be out by March 2026, according to the city attorney’s filing, first reported by MyNewsLA.
- The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as case number 26STCV21736, alleges he served no-cause eviction notices in a building covered by the city’s rent stabilization rules, which require a legally valid reason to force a tenant out.
- City attorneys are seeking an injunction, restitution for tenants, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation under the city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, plus punitive damages under state law, according to a separate account of the filing.
According to the filing, Olanipekun didn’t stop at eviction notices. The lawsuit alleges he cut off water and waste disposal service to the building, added unauthorized fees to tenants’ accounts, revoked their outdoor storage and parking rights, and in some cases threw away residents’ personal belongings. The complaint also claims he rewrote lease terms unilaterally and told some tenants to get rid of their pets, tactics the city attorney’s office says amount to harassment under a local ordinance designed specifically to stop landlords from pressuring tenants into leaving rent-stabilized units without going through the courts.
Los Angeles’s rent stabilization ordinance covers most multifamily buildings constructed before October 1978, and it limits landlords to a short list of “just cause” reasons for removing a tenant, such as the owner moving in themselves or planned demolition. Simply wanting to charge a new tenant more isn’t one of them. The city’s separate anti-harassment ordinance goes further, making it illegal for a landlord to use pressure tactics, like shutting off utilities or discarding belongings, to push someone out even if no formal eviction is ever filed.
“California and the City of Los Angeles have enacted tenant protection laws to ensure tenants can live in their homes free from harassment and unlawful eviction practices,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement announcing the suit. “This suit sends a clear message that my office will continue to enforce these laws and hold accountable landlords who violate tenants’ rights.”
The case is one of several the city attorney’s office has brought against landlords this year, part of a broader push to enforce tenant protections in a city where rents have climbed well beyond what a new building owner can typically justify without pushing out existing renters first. For tenants in older, rent-stabilized buildings, the filing is a reminder that a change in ownership doesn’t reset the rules on how, or why, they can be asked to leave.
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