Katy Perry avoids paying rent to nuns in property dispute

Katy Perry has won a small victory in her ongoing legal battle over the ownership of a former Los Angeles convent after a judge ordered the pop star's rival to continue paying rent on the property.

The Roar hitmaker had been in negotiations with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to buy the building formerly occupied by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Los Feliz, but two ex-residents, Sisters Rita Callahan and Catherine Rose Holzman, objected.

They claimed it was their right to sell the eight-acre estate and they had already struck a deal with businesswoman Dana Hollister, who subsequently moved in.

After officials for the archdiocese demanded the agreement be nullified, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant sided with the archdiocese and ruled the sale "invalid" in July (15).

Hollister agreed to leave the property, and was ordered to notify archdiocese chiefs and Perry's representatives if emergency repairs were needed.

On Tuesday (15Sep15), the case was back in court, where Chalfant ruled that Hollister must continue paying the $25,000 per month in rent to the order of nuns while lawsuits over the property's sale are pending.

Hollister had planned to turn the property into a hotel and restaurant, while Perry offered the archdiocese a deal worth $14.5 million.