Daro

In this action brought by tenants of an apartment building under California’s unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) (UCL), the trial court found that the appellant property owners had committed an unfair business practice by attempting to sell subdivided interests in property without obtaining the “public report” that must be provided to potential buyers pursuant to the Subdivided Lands Act (§ 11000 et seq.). The court described appellants’ unfair business practice as purchasing residential rental propertiés, subdividing them through the vehicle of tenancy-in-common agreements accompanied by the right to exclusive occupancy of individual units, and then selling or attempting to sell the subdivided interests without complying with the Subdivided Lands Act. In order to create vacancy in the buildings they sought to subdivide and sell, appellants utilized the Ellis Act (Gov. Code, § 7060 et seq.) to evict the tenants and remove the buildings from the rental market. The court issued an injunction requiring appellants to comply with the Subdivided Lands Act before either offering their interests in the building for sale or exercising their rights under…