1
Plaintiff and appellant Carlos Yanez appeals the unlawful detainer (UD) judgment
entered in favor of defendant and respondent Omar Vasquez. The judgment was a consequence
of a successful motion for summary judgment filed by defendant.
Plaintiff argues for reversal of the order granting summary judgment on procedural
grounds as well as on the merits. He contends the trial court erred by considering the motion
because defendant failed to give the notice required under Code of Civil Procedure sections
1170.7 and 1013, subdivision (c).1 Substantively, plaintiff maintains the trial court incorrectly
found (a) his failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy for the premises was a complete
affirmative defense under Chapter XV of the Los Angeles Municipal Code—the Los Angeles
Rent Stabilization Ordinance (LARSO) (L.A. Mun. Code (LAMC) § 151.00 et seq.), and (b)
plaintiff could not prevail on his unlawful detainer action because the occupancy was illegal
and the underlying lease agreement was therefore void.
Although the notice period fell short by one day, plaintiff waived the issue and appellate
relief on that basis is unwarranted due to the dearth of any resulting prejudice to plaintiff. On
the merits, the absence of a certificate of occupancy (due to an illegally converted garage)
rendered the lease agreement void and, for that reason, an unlawful detainer action could not be
based on defendant’s failure to comply with its provisions. We affirm the judgment.
BACKGROUND
On October 4, 2019,2 plaintiff filed a complaint for possession of a premises located on
42nd Street in the City of Los Angeles. The complaint alleged the parties entered into an oral
agreement in February 2007 for a month-to-month tenancy in exchange for a rental payment of
$1,000 per month, and that the tenancy was subject to LARSO. The lawsuit was triggered by
defendant’s failure to comply with a three-day notice to perform covenants or quit. As stated in
the notice, defendant allegedly made unlawful modifications to the premises and refused to