People who live in rent-controlled properties, such as Barrington Plaza, enjoy special protections against eviction as a way of keeping tenants from being kicked out just to raise rents. Under L.A. city law, one legally allowed reason to evict is if an owner is going to remove a rental unit “permanently from rental housing use.”

In the case of Barrington Plaza, the owners say that’s exactly their plan — while they simultaneously acknowledge they might rent the units again after some years.

“The term ‘permanently’ does not mean forever,” the company’s lawyers argued in court filings.

Read More:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/trial-over-mass-evictions-at-barrington-plaza-could-hinge-on-meaning-of-permanent/ar-BB1mqfrp?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=cb1ae9d59d0a4075b9fc99dc67080eba&ei=15