HGTV Stars Heather & Tarek El Moussa Evicting Rent-Controlled Tenants in L.A.

The Flipping El Moussas stars Tarek and Heather El Moussa are buying new property in Los Angeles that comes with a grim recent history.

According to a report by The Los Angeles Times, Tarek and Heather (who is also seen on Netflix’s Selling Sunset) are in the midst of buying a plot of land on which they intend to build a 138-unit apartment building. In a July 13 Instagram video posted to his account, Tarek said, “We got so lucky to find this land, because finding land like this in North Hollywood, it’s literally impossible.”

The land is currently occupied by 10 bungalows, five dingbat apartments, one single-family house, and additional burned-out buildings. Just one week before Tarek posted his video, the property owner of said homes, Arthur Aslanian, was convicted in federal court of hiring someone to set units on fire. Tenants say the landlord has been illegally harassing them for years in an effort to make them move out of the units. There are five tenants still living on the property, all in rent-controlled homes. Per The Los Angeles Times report, the El Moussas are evicting them.

Eda Kalkay, the El Moussas’ public relations representative, said in an emailed statement to the news outlet that Tarek and Heather are aware that Aslanian is at the center of “several serious legal matters” but that once the sale is complete, they will not be affiliated with him. The new apartment building will feature a rooftop pool and reportedly include a group of affordable housing units.

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“The goal is to work closely and respectfully with the current tenants by providing proper move-out compensation and constructing a safe and pristine new apartment complex that will also include 14 low-income units,” Kalkay’s statement said.

Aslanian reportedly began his harassment campaign three years ago by ripping out walls of occupied units, which exposed tenants to mold, asbestos, and vermin. Tenants say Aslanian retaliated against them when they complained about the actions and requested repairs.

Aslanian was previously arrested in a murder-for-hire plot in September 2022 and was in custody starting in January 2023. In February 2022, he reportedly agreed to pay someone $2,000 to start a fire on his property. Prosecutors said he arranged the arson to kick out his tenants and get out of paying millions of dollars in debt.

By selling the impending apartment complex, the El Moussas reportedly told investors that they could make $26 million than it costs to buy the property and build the new complex. The property’s current tenants say they’re willing to accept a buyout but given Aslanian’s illegal harassment campaign, they feel they are owed more than the $25,000 maximum the law allows.

“Pay us to leave,” Clare Letmon, 32, told The Los Angeles Times. “But pay us an amount of money that’s dignified and recognizes the profit they’re set to make off of everything that was done to us.” Letmon lives in a bungalow with her husband, Jonpaul Rodriguez, 35.

Aslanian is said to have gotten approval for the new apartment complex just months after the fires. “Those permits exist because of everything Arthur did,” Letmon noted. “The building was almost vacant because of everything Arthur did.”

Cathy Livas, 77, has lived in her rent-controlled dingbat apartment for 40 years. She lives with her 56-year-old son who has special needs. “Why would I want to live anywhere else?” she said. “Do you know the price of rents?”

The remaining tenants received eviction notices in June. Per the law, they do not have to vacate until June 2024, but the El Moussas’ investment campaign for the lot has been alarming for them. One of Tarek’s Instagram posts about the property featured the use of a fire emoji, which Livas and Letmon viewed as insensitive given Aslanian’s history of arson. The post also said they intend to break ground on the project “in a few months.”

“Anyone that follows Tarek would know that he is a fan of using emojis on social media,” Kalkay told The Los Angeles Times. “By no means was he making any insinuation or mockery of the tenants’ past experience with the seller.”