Gombiner

Tenant Andrew S. Combiner appeals from the court’s judgment following a trial involving his residential lease of a home owned by landlord Daniel B. Swartz. Because the trial court erroneously found Los Angeles’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (L.A. Mun. Code, § 151.00 et seq.) did not apply to the dispute, we reverse and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

In 1997, landlord Daniel B. Swartz (landlord) converted the house he owned at 1314 Sunset Plaza Drive in Los Angeles into two residential units designated as 1400 and 1314 Sunset Plaza Drive. In January 1998, tenant Andrew S. Combiner (tenant) signed a two-year lease for 1400 Sunset Plaza Drive, agreeing to pay $3,500 per month for the first year and $4,000 per month for the second. At the time, landlord did not tell his new tenant that the structure’s ground floor was landlord’s separate residence in which he was living under the address 1314 Sunset Plaza Drive.

In July 1998, tenant sued landlord for fraud and related causes of action for misrepresenting the property as a single-family home by not disclosing the building’s second residence. (Gombiner v. Swartz (Super. Ct. L.A. County, 2000, No. BC194275).) In February 2000,…