Los Angeles Files First Civil Case Under Strengthened Tenant-Harassment Ordinance

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has filed what it describes as the city’s first civil enforcement case under the strengthened Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, alleging that landlord Femi G. Olanipekun pressured rent-stabilized tenants at two South Los Angeles properties to leave.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced the lawsuit July 15, 2026. The civil action, filed under the city ordinance and California’s Unfair Competition Law, remains pending, and the allegations have not been proven in court.

Eight units at two South Los Angeles addresses

The case concerns eight rent-stabilized units at 4301-4303 1/2 Woodlawn Avenue and 120 East 43rd Street, with four units at each address, according to the lawsuit materials and local reporting.

The complaint says Olanipekun purchased the eight-unit complex on October 29, 2025. Five days later, the city alleges, he demanded that the tenants vacate because the existing rents were too low to make the property profitable. The lawsuit also alleges that eviction notices were served on several tenants without a valid just-cause basis.

The city says the Los Angeles Housing Department determined that the notices did not identify a legally valid just-cause ground under the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance. That allegation concerns the city’s review of the notices; it is not a final court ruling on liability.

What the lawsuit alleges

According to the complaint and the City Attorney’s announcement, Olanipekun allegedly continued trying to pressure tenants after they refused to leave.

The alleged conduct includes interruptions to water and waste-disposal services, removal of trash bins, efforts involving parking or outdoor-storage rights, new water and trash charges, unauthorized entries, pet-related restrictions, late fees, discarded personal property and continued eviction efforts. The city also alleges that lease terms were changed unilaterally and that some eviction efforts relied in part on those changes.

Those are allegations made by the City Attorney’s Office in a civil pleading. Olanipekun is the defendant, and no court has found him liable in this case.

What the city is seeking

The City Attorney’s Office is asking the court to stop the alleged violations through an injunction. The lawsuit also seeks civil penalties, restitution for affected tenants and punitive damages.

The case is identified as Los Angeles Superior Court case No. 26STCV21736, The People of the State of California v. Femi G. Olanipekun. An available case-index result lists July 8, 2026, as the filing date; the City Attorney publicly announced the action on July 15.

Why the case matters

Los Angeles’ strengthened Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance was posted in November 2024 and became effective December 29, 2024. The Olanipekun case is the first civil action the City Attorney’s Office has publicly identified as being brought under the strengthened ordinance.

For rent-stabilized tenants, the case shows how the city may pursue alleged harassment that goes beyond a single eviction notice, including alleged service interruptions, unauthorized entries, new charges and pressure to surrender a tenancy. It does not create an immediate new rule for every South Los Angeles tenant or landlord.

The broader significance will depend on the court’s rulings, any response filed by Olanipekun and whether the City Attorney’s Office brings additional civil cases. For now, the lawsuit involves one defendant, two South Los Angeles properties and eight units, and its allegations remain unproven.

Sources

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