In their federal lawsuit, Brinah Milstein et al. v. City of Los Angeles, homeowners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank say they bought the Brentwood property for $8 million in 2023 with plans to demolish its deteriorating structures and redevelop the site. Monroe owned the 2,300-square-foot Spanish bungalow for about six months before her death.<\/p>\n
The complaint says the property has been heavily altered over decades by 14 previous owners and is in declining condition.<\/p>\n
The owners say Los Angeles issued demolition and grading permits on Sept. 7, 2023. A day later, the City Council moved to begin the process of declaring the property a historic-cultural monument after fans of Monroe and historians pressured the city to stop the demolition.<\/p>\n
![\"Marilyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/marilyn-monroe-home.png\")
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Actress Marilyn Monroe lived in her Brentwood, Calif., home for six months until her death in 1962. (Frank Povolny\/Twentieth Century Fox\/Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis\/Mel Bouzad\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
MARILYN MONROE’S LOS ANGELES HOME WHERE SHE DIED SPARED FROM DEMOLITION \u2014 FOR NOW<\/a><\/p>\n Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes the property, pushed to protect the home, and the City Council ultimately voted in June 2024 to designate the site a “historic-cultural monument.” The owners say that move killed their demolition plans and turned a private home into what amounts to a public monument without compensation.<\/p>\n “They couldn\u2019t demolish, couldn\u2019t repair, couldn\u2019t build and couldn\u2019t sell to someone who could. The city had effectively turned their private property into a public monument without paying for it,” Pacific Legal Foundation<\/a> said in a press release Friday announcing it had joined the homeowners’ legal fight.<\/p>\n The couple said they purchased the property for over $8 million and have since absorbed approximately $30,000 in permits, hundreds of thousands of dollars for added security and millions in attorneys’ fees. Their lawsuit also claims they pay over $100,000 annually in property taxes<\/a>, insurance and utilities to hold the property, which remains unusable as they intended.<\/p>\n They say the city’s designation has created a tourist trap and security risk<\/a> with multiple break-ins.<\/p>\n The complaint also alleges the walled-off property isn\u2019t viewable from the street, so designating the property a landmark “lacked a public purpose.”<\/p>\n “The City took no action regarding the house\u2019s now-alleged ‘historic’ or ‘cultural’ status, essentially admitting it was neither and that no public good would be served by so designating the house or the Property,” the complaint states.<\/p>\n Marilyn Monroe’s pool and backyard at her Brentwood home are shown in a photo taken July 13, 2010, at Greg Schreiner’s home in Los Angeles.\u00a0 (Anne Cusack\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n TRUMP AND PARAMOUNT SEEKING MEDIATOR, FUELING SETTLEMENT CHATTER IN CBS NEWS LAWSUIT<\/a><\/p>\n According to Pacific Legal Foundation, the couple offered to pay to relocate the home so it could be turned into a public museum, but the city refused.<\/p>\n The complaint says the cultural-historic designation, along with its unrentable condition, leaves the house’s market value “zero or a negative amount.”<\/p>\n The lawsuit, which names Mayor Karen Bass and the City of Los Angeles as defendants, argues the city\u2019s preservation decision amounts to an unconstitutional taking under the<\/a> Fifth Amendment.<\/p>\n “These homeowners have a straightforward request: either let them use their own property or compensate them fairly for turning it into a public monument,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney J. David Breemer.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The Fifth Amendment doesn\u2019t have caveats. If the City of Los Angeles wants a museum, it must pay for one \u2014 not force private homeowners to bear the cost and liability.”<\/p>\n Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is a named defendant in the federal court case over the property Marilyn Monroe once owned. (Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Marilyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-566067943.jpg\")
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