Domestic Violence: A Tenant’s New Defense to a Nuisance Eviction

According to a Los Angeles Superior Court Appellate Judge, a tenant can assert as a defense to being evicted for causing a nuisance on rented property when non-domestic violence grounds are also asserted in the unlawful detainer action.  (Elmassian vs. Flores; Los Angeles Superior Court – filed August 23, 2021.)  In other words, the Appellate Court found that a tenant can assert the defense to being evicted based upon domestic violence causing a nuisance on rented property even if non-domestic violence grounds are also asserted in the unlawful detainer action – even if the non-domestic violence grounds are non-payment or destruction of property.

In order to support the defense, the Court ruled that the documentation needed to support the defense can consist of a report prepared by the police narrating a domestic violence incident based solely on a tenant’s statement which does not need to name the perpetrator of the domestic violence, does not need to indicate the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, and only documents one of multiple instances of domestic violence relied on by the landlord to evict the tenant.