Owners of Marilyn Monroe’s last home are suing Los Angeles to demolish it – realestate.com.au

The owners of the Los Angeles home where Marilyn Monroe died have launched a legal battle against Mayor Karen Bass and the city of Los Angeles.

Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank purchased the infamous Brentwood property in 2023 for just over $8 million.

Shortly afterward, they sought and received permission from the city to demolish the house and begin new construction, according to a lawsuit obtained by The California Post.

That’s when the problems started for the homeowners, who say the city stepped in to designate the house as a “Historic-Cultural Monument” in 2024 — after permits had already been approved.

“In doing so, the city turned the property into a tourist attraction, which (as the city wanted and expected) attracted traffic congestion on the short, narrow cul-de-sac adjacent to the property, along with numerous trespassers jumping over the property walls to enter the ‘designated’ home (which is not visible from the public domain due to the property wall and landscaping),” the documents say.

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Monroe died in the house in August 1962. Photo: Getty Images

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Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank purchased the infamous Brentwood property in 2023 for just over $8 million. Photo: Getty Images

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The new attention on the house has also reportedly forced the homeowners to hire their own private security to monitor the property. They claim burglars broke in in November looking for memorabilia.

The Spanish-style bungalow with swimming pool, located on a small cul-de-sac in the heart of a multi-million dollar neighborhood, has been a tourist attraction since Monroe’s naked body was wheeled out of the house on a stretcher in August 1962.

According to the lawsuit, the property was “owned by Marilyn Monroe for approximately six months in 1962 – she occasionally occupied a small house located on the property – traveling extensively during her brief ownership to her permanent home in New York City and elsewhere – before she died at the property in August 1962.”

Marilyn Monroe owned the house for about six months in 1962. Photo: Getty Images

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The new attention on the house has also reportedly forced the homeowners to hire their own private security to monitor the property. Photo: US District Court, California

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The owners claim burglars broke in in November looking for memorabilia. Photo: US District Court, California

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Monroe’s body was found in the master bedroom of the home, surrounded by prescription pills. She died of a barbiturate overdose that was suspected to be a probable suicide.

Milstein and Bank argue in their lawsuit that the city has never shown interest in the house in the 60 years since Monroe’s death, that it has undergone multiple renovations and had multiple owners.

They claim the historic designation has now made the property ‘unusable’ and has completely prohibited their ability to capitalize on the $8.3 million ($A11.7 million) they put into purchasing the home.

The couple is asking the court to allow them to proceed with their plans to demolish the house, or to force the city to pay the value of the house.

Parts of this story first appeared in TheCalifornia Post and was republished with permission.

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