Castle Hill announces freeze on rate increases

The new owners of the Castle Hill Retirement Village in Thousand Oaks announced last week that all rent increases will be placed on hold.

The statement came after an outcry from residents, their relatives and Thousand Oaks and Ventura County officials, including Councilmember Jacqui Irwin, whose father-in-law resides at Castle Hill.

Unexpected rate hikes totaling more than 50 percent for some residents had threatened the ability of many seniors to remain at Castle Hill.

A number have already moved or made plans to relocate to other senior living facilities.

Residents and their relatives appealed to the Thousand Oaks City Council for help. Officials met with residents and with Castle Hill owners.

Castle Hill management will hold meetings with residents beginning today, according to the facility’s attorney, Michael Thornhill.

“We needed to put a moratorium in effect to make things calm, rebuild trust and revise plans,” Thornhill said. “The owners, the residents and management all need to work together.”

Ownership of the facility changed hands in September, shortly after the previous owner raised rates by 12 percent. The new owners announced another immediate rate increase that would be followed by a third increase effective Dec. 1.

The new ownership is SMB King Properties, Inc., made up of Mary Leste and Shelley Chilton, cofounders of TLC Home Hospice in Moorpark; and Barry Lefkovitch, a Thousand Oaks physician who practices with the Arroyo Oaks Medical Group.

According to Thornhill, at least five residents have given notice since the first rate increase in August. He didn’t know how many have left since the second and third rate increases were announced.

Improvements will continue as planned, added Thornhill, including new carpeting in the common areas and fixing walls and plumbing.

Word of a freeze on future rate increases was good news for Susan Engler, whose parents are residents of Castle Hill, but she still has concerns.

“What keeps me up at night is that Castle Hill won’t be able to stay in business if there’s a high vacancy rate,” Engler said. “I want them (Castle Hill ownership) to be successful.”

Engler is pleased with the way the city responded and credits leaders with helping to bring about the latest developments.