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Essential Facts

Core Insight:
A sweeping lawsuit accuses Southern California’s largest landlord of orchestrating slum-like conditions, targeting low-income families and Section 8 tenants across 22,000 rental units.

Noteworthy Fact:
Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges that Mike Nijjar’s PAMA Management systematically violated tenant rights, made substandard repairs, and engaged in discriminatory practices.

Highlight Reel:
Despite years of public outcry and prior enforcement attempts, authorities claim Nijjar’s companies persist in business practices that leave thousands of vulnerable tenants living in hazardous, unhealthy conditions.

By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald

LOS ANGELES, CA - The walls are closing in on one of Southern California’s most powerful and controversial landlords. This week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta unleashed a legal broadside against Swaranjit ‘Mike’ Nijjar—real estate tycoon and head of the PAMA Management empire, his sister Daljit “DJ” Kler, and other members of his family—alleging a relentless pattern of tenant exploitation and slum-like conditions that stretch across a vast network of low-income rental properties.

For thousands of working families, seniors, and individuals relying on public assistance, these claims cut straight to the heart of California’s ongoing housing crisis. With 22,000 rental units in his portfolio and an operation spanning some of the region’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, Nijjar’s business has long drawn complaints—now, state authorities are determined to force accountability on an unprecedented scale.

California’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is the product of a two-year Department of Justice investigation. The result is a blistering account of what Bonta calls “rampant, slum-like conditions” in properties managed by Nijjar, his family, and their companies.

“PAMA and the companies owned by Mike Nijjar and his family are notorious for their rampant, slum-like conditions — some so bad that residents have suffered tragic results,” Bonta said in a statement. “Our investigation into Nijjar’s properties revealed PAMA exploited vulnerable families, refusing to invest the resources needed to eradicate pest infestations, fix outdated roofs and install functioning plumbing systems, all while deceiving tenants about their rights to sue their landlord and demand repairs.”
— California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Official Statement

The allegations are harrowing:

• Widespread infestations of vermin, mold, and persistent sewage overflows.
• Roof leaks, structural neglect, and chronic health risks.
• A business strategy prioritizing hasty, low-cost repairs with unskilled labor over real solutions.

For residents, especially those with nowhere else to turn, the impact has been both physical and psychological.

The heart of the lawsuit: PAMA Management and related companies, under Nijjar’s leadership, allegedly capitalized on lax enforcement and the desperation of low-income tenants. Most residents depend on fixed incomes or Section 8 housing vouchers. As Bonta’s office alleges, this made them easy targets for a landlord who, rather than investing in habitability, “treated lawsuit after lawsuit and code violation after code violation as the cost of doing business.”

“Nijjar and his associates have treated lawsuit after lawsuit and code violation after code violation as the cost of doing business and have been allowed to operate and collect hundreds of millions of dollars each year from families who sleep, shower, and feed their children in unhealthy and deplorable conditions,” Bonta said. “Enough is enough.”
— Attorney General Rob Bonta

Examples cited in the lawsuit:

• A PAMA-owned mobile home in Kern County was the site of a fatal fire that killed an infant. The structure was not even permitted for human habitation.
• The Chesapeake Apartments in South L.A.—a 425-unit complex—accumulated more public health violations in five years than any other residential property in the county, with persistent reports of sewage, mold, and shoddy repairs.

Legal Maneuvers and Industry Response

The scale of Nijjar’s holdings—estimated in the billions—has enabled repeated reorganizations and evasions of regulatory crackdowns. After the 2016 mobile home tragedy, the state revoked licenses linked to Nijjar’s businesses. His family simply shifted business structures, the lawsuit contends, continuing operations largely uninterrupted.

Prior city actions, including nuisance abatement suits and habitability complaints, resulted in settlements or ongoing litigation, but tenant conditions reportedly remained unchanged. The California DOJ’s latest suit seeks to change that trajectory—demanding penalties, restitution for tenants, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and a court order barring Nijjar and PAMA from continuing their alleged unlawful practices.

The defense is pushing back—hard.

“The allegations in the complaint are false and misleading, and its claims are legally erroneous,” Nijjar’s attorney Stephen Larson said. “We look forward to demonstrating in court that Mr. Nijjar and his companies are not only compliant with the law, but they provide an extraordinary service to housing those disadvantaged and underserved by California’s public and private housing markets.”
— Stephen Larson, attorney for Mike Nijjar

Perhaps most striking, the lawsuit claims systematic violations of California’s rent cap law. On more than 2,000 occasions, PAMA allegedly raised rents beyond legal limits by shifting utility costs onto tenants and applying unlawful surcharges, resulting in effective hikes up to 20%—more than double the allowable increase.

Other allegations include:

• Deceptive lease terms:Tenants were allegedly induced into signing agreements that sought to void rights guaranteed by state law—including the right to sue for repairs and make legally-permitted rent deductions.
• Section 8 Discrimination:PAMA is accused of telling voucher holders that no units were available, while simultaneously renting to others without vouchers—a violation of antidiscrimination statutes.

This lawsuit is a landmark moment in California’s decades-long struggle to hold powerful landlords accountable and enforce habitability standards. Despite repeated reports, media investigations, and city complaints over the years, large-scale, persistent exploitation of vulnerable tenants remains alarmingly common—especially in a housing market plagued by scarcity and skyrocketing rents.

For many, the Bonta v. Nijjar lawsuit is about more than just one landlord or one set of buildings—it’s a test of whether California will finally enforce the promise of safe, affordable, and dignified housing for all.

The coming legal battle will undoubtedly draw national attention, especially as tenant rights, housing policy, and corporate accountability remain urgent public debates. Nijjar’s legal team promises a vigorous defense; advocates for tenants and affordable housing hope this is the start of a broader reckoning.

For residents still living under PAMA’s management, the lawsuit brings hope—but the need for robust, systemic enforcement has never been clearer.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA vs. SWARANJIT NIJJAR a/k/a MIKE NIJJAR, et al.

A copy of the complaint can be found here.