The Swig Company evicts landlord Mosser Companies for not paying rent

Mosser Companies, a San Francisco landlord once dubbed a “serial evictor,” is getting the boot from its headquarters for not paying rent.

The apartment investor led by Neveo Mosser has been evicted by The Swig Company from its 6,000-square-foot suite on the 20th floor of the historic Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street, in the Financial District, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing a lawsuit.

The reason: Mosser owes $181,034 in back rent, according to the complaint, which also seeks damages of $1,221 a day “for as long as the defendant remains on the property.”

On May 24, the owner of the 440,000-square-foot office building served Mosser with a three-day notice to pay or vacate the premises. 

Swig, led by Connor Kidd, also claims that Mosser is obligated to “replenish” a $177,142 security deposit used to pay back rent. 

“Defendant is financially responsible to the landlord for the entire amount of the rent, including base rent, real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance,” the lawsuit states.

Mosser spokeswoman Cindi Goodsell said Mosser gave its landlord notice in May that it would move out. 

“With remote work, and no more than 10 employees regularly in their 6,000 square foot office since COVID, they could no longer justify the large expense,” she stated. “They have already begun the relocation process and should be moved out, likely, by the end of this week. They continue to negotiate the end of their lease with Swig.”

Mosser leased the offices in 2016, with rents starting at $65 a square foot and jumping to $81 a square foot over the 10-year term, according to the lawsuit. Average asking rents for Class A offices on nearby California Street are $62, Cushman & Wakefield recently reported.

Swig and Mosser — two San Francisco families who founded their real estate investment firms in 1936 and 1955, respectively — are partners on a distressed portfolio of apartment buildings, according to the Chronicle.

In March, the joint venture defaulted on a $68 million loan tied to five apartment buildings at 825 Post Street, 750 O’Farrell Street, 1008 Larkin Street, 839 Leavenworth Street and 72 Gough Street, according to Trepp.

Mosser and Swig bought the buildings in 2015 for $104 million. The loan is set to mature in January.

In February, the Chronicle reported that Mosser had defaulted on a 2018 loan for $88 million backed by 12 buildings with 459 apartments. Mosser still manages the buildings and is working to add another investor.

Mosser was sued by a group of Oakland tenants in 2021 and has been called “a serial evictor” by the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.

Neveo Mosser co-owns the family business along with his sister, Deborah, whose son-in-law Jim Farris runs Mosser Capital’s day-to-day operations as CEO. The firm owns and operates 40 apartment buildings in San Francisco, with other properties in Oakland and Los Angeles.

“2024 is going to be the year of incredible disruption,” Neveo Mosser told The Real Deal in May, the month Swig served the notice to pay up or move out. “You’re going to see things go back and forth in an incestuous manner between operators, portfolios moving from one entity to another.

“This is the year of great opportunity and great disruption.”

— Dana Bartholomew

A previous version of this story incorrectly said Mosser Capital was the tenant. The story has been updated to reflect that Mosser Companies is the tenant.

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