Apartment building owners lose condo exemption to local law. (Rent Control).(City of West Hollywood v. Beverly Towers)

The owners of apartment buildings in the City of West Hollywood cannot avoid the city's rent control ordinance by relying on 1980s-era approvals to convert the buildings to condominiums, an appellate court has ruled.

The owners of two buildings received approval from the state Department of Real Estate to convert the units to condominiums that could be sold separately. They received this approval before West Hollywood incorporated in 1984. However, the Department of Real Estate's "public report" -- a disclosure to potential buyers -- expired after five years. The owners have received new public reports twice, but only after lengthy periods when no public reports were …