Garden Grove Files Charges Against Alleged Slumlord

GARDEN GROVE —  Tenants of an apartment complex that city officials this week described as one of the worst in the county met recently with owner Khosro Khaloghi and asked for repairs, but he dismissed them as “troublemakers,” an attorney for several tenants said Thursday.

The meeting last month was called by tenants of the 136-unit Park Regency Apartments to talk to Khaloghi, a Newport Beach property manager, about cockroaches, rodents and other conditions.

But Khaloghi, 52, “called them troublemakers” and walked out of the meeting, said Richard Spix, a former Legal Aid attorney who handles cases for low-income families.

This week, the city of Garden Grove charged Khaloghi with 685 criminal misdemeanor complaints for allegedly operating a housing complex with rats and cockroaches, broken windows and severe plumbing problems. His arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 10.

In addition to his $4.6-million complex in the 1200 block of Buaro Street, Khaloghi owns property in Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach, and an estate surrounded by an ivy-covered brick wall in the hills just south of John Wayne Airport in Newport Beach. The estate is called KK Ranch.

According to the Real Estate Information Service, his house on the estate, valued at $1 million, has 3,266 square feet, 11 rooms, including five baths and two fireplaces. The land and the house are valued at $2.1 million.

Khaloghi was out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment, said a receptionist at Khaloghi & Associates in Irvine, a land development and property management firm. Khaloghi could face a $500 fine and six months in jail for each misdemeanor count.

The case is believed to be one of the biggest ever filed against a landlord in Orange County.

Mayor W.E. (Walt) Donovan, who supported the action, said the City Council first heard about the Park Regency when letters arrived at City Hall from tenants complaining about deteriorated conditions and from neighbors complaining about overcrowding.

As a city, Donovan said, “you walk a fine line with the people living there. You want to help them,” yet forcing the landlord to obey city laws--including those on overcrowding--could cost some tenants their homes.

Spix said that some Park Regency tenants, including those paying $950 a month for a three-bedroom apartment, began their own rent strike after negotiation attempts with Khaloghi failed.

“I hope the owner has financial reserves, because I don’t think he should count on using his $900-a-month rents to pay for the repairs. The repair expenses in most of these deferred-maintenance cases almost always exceed the monthly rents,” he said.

County housing advocates expressed surprise that Garden Grove took such strong action against the landlord and praised the city.

“I can’t remember any city pushing that strong,” said Joe Caux, a housing rights specialist with the Orange County Fair Housing Council. “They usually let them drag on and on. I think the city should be complimented on taking such an action.”

Caux said that the recession has led to a tight housing market, which has forced some tenants to remain in squalid conditions.

“And when they do move, they have to be ready to pay 50% of their monthly income or more on rent. And that’s why many simply stay where they are, despite poor conditions,” Caux said.