By Jorge Casuso

February 16, 2012 -- Three property owners were given permission by the Santa Monica planning department Tuesday to occupy their buildings along with family members.

The owners of two two-unit properties at 1433 18th Street and 2957 Lincoln Boulevard and the owner of a four-unit property at 2205 Oak Street were granted occupancy permits after Planning Director David Martin determined the owners would not occupy more than one of the units.

The owners' family members will be allowed to occupy the other units as long as they do not own interest in the property and do not pay rent, according to a report submitted by Martin to the Planning Commission and City Council Wednesday.

Collecting rent from any of the family members occupying the units constitutes grounds for having the occupancy permits revoked.

Martin was well within the time frame provided by local law requiring him to submit the reports within five days of approving the occupancy permits.

Martin's decisions approving the occupancy permits, however, can still be appealed to the Planning Commission. And any decision by the commission can be appealed to the City Council.

The three owners removed their buildings from Rent Control under the Ellis Act, the 1986 State law that prohibits local governments from requiring landlords to stay in the rental business.

Under Ellis, units that are re-instated as rentals within two years of being removed must be offered first to displaced tenants at the rent level they paid at the time of eviction.

The three building owners granted occupancy permits had removed their properties from the rental market in 2003, 2009 and 2011.

In 2009, the City cracked down on landlords who may have been illegally living in or renting units in rent-controlled buildings that were removed under the Ellis Act.

To establish if the buildings were occupied illegally, City inspectors monitored 73 apartment buildings. They found that some 30 buildings showed signs of being occupied -- an active water meter, mail being delivered or someone spotted inside, City officials said.

More than a dozen of the targeted owners said they or family members or friends were legally occupying the units by not paying rent.