A home at 130 Hubbard St. appeared occupied but in disrepair on Sept. 25. Former tenants sued the landlord earlier in September. (Alexandria Bordas — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Three former tenants are alleging landowner Sridhar Equities illegally evicted them last year in a scheme to avoid paying relocation fees. The evictions came as the company prepared to redevelop 21 parcels on Ocean Street, May Avenue and Hubbard Street into 389 apartments.
“They were wrongfully evicted from their homes after there was a scheme to falsely claim that they failed to pay their rents,” said Emily Humy, attorney for Santa Cruz-based firm Brereton, Mohamed, and Korte, which is representing the plaintiffs. “This was a very quick and fast scheme that displaced some really vulnerable tenants that had lived there for decades.”
Sridhar Equities CEO Matt Sridhar denied the allegations.
“That’s categorically false,” he said Thursday. “We have never illegally evicted anybody. The tenants that are suing were never evicted, they are still there.”
The plaintiffs were allegedly evicted from two homes, one on Hubbard Street and another on Ocean Street. Thursday, one house appeared occupied but in disrepair and no one answered the door. The other was boarded up.
Defendants have until Oct. 11 to respond to the lawsuit, said plaintiffs’ attorney Gabrielle Korte.
“We have some pretty powerful evidence. So it’ll be interesting to see what their response is going to be to that,” said Korte.
The lawsuit alleges the company stopped accepting rent payments, later claiming they had failed to pay, and evicted the tenants last summer.
One former tenant became homeless as a result, the lawsuit alleges, and now sleeps in his car. His wife had died several months before the eviction, and Humy said the landlord falsely claimed they had served her an eviction summons.
“One of the notices claimed that they had given the notice to a client’s wife who had passed at that time. She was not living there, and was dead,” Humy said.
The lawsuit also alleges Sridhar Equities refused to fix that tenant’s sink in 2023 when it broke, and that he paid out of pocket to fix it.
A rendering shows a now-abandoned plan for 389 apartments on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz. (BDE Architecture)
Redevelopment possibilities
Sridhar purchased the parcels in 2017 to redevelop the lots, which mostly contain single family homes. A proposal for 389 apartments was approved by the Santa Cruz Planning Commission in February.
In July, Santa Cruz Local reported that the proposal was scrapped, with landowner Sridhar Equities no longer in contract with developer High Street Residential. Rising construction costs and economic uncertainty may have played a role.
In August, High Street Residential said they would try to revive the project by shrinking it to a more economical size, but the companies had not renewed a contract.
Thursday, Sridhar said his company is in talks with several developers who are interested in purchasing the properties. Developers’ ideas for the 4.15-acre site, which spans 21 lots on Ocean Street, Hubbard Street and May Avenue, range from market rate to 100% affordable.
Sridhar said he is also considering developing the site himself, “potentially for townhomes.”
He added, “In the next few months more will shake out with respect to this property.”
Read more
- Housing project tracker: 908 Ocean St.
- Developer aims to revive Ocean St. apartment project in Santa Cruz — Aug. 8, 2025
- Developer backs out of 389 apartments on Ocean St. in Santa Cruz — July 24, 2025
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Nik Altenberg is a bilingual reporter and assistant editor at Santa Cruz Local. Nik Altenberg es reportera bilingüe y editora asistente para Santa Cruz Local.
