Community's Struggle with Discrepancies - April 2022  - November 2023

Since April 2022, the SB Community has faced severe and distressing challenges. Our homes were sold without notice, leading to dire consequences. Security was replaced with concierge services, resulting in random power outages, water shut-offs, lack of hot water, and inoperable cooling and heating units. Common areas became filthy, laundry facilities stopped working, and transient break-ins became frequent. Vandalism of vehicles and damage to the buildings' interior and exterior became common. We faced limited elevator access, vermin infestations, multiple plumbing leaks, and mold accumulation.

Residents have also suffered harassment and mistreatment from new owners and management. On Laguna Point Properties' first day as owners, they fired the entire staff, including resident managers, leasing agents, maintenance workers, cleaning crews, and security personnel, leaving tenants without support for two months. These changes created an atmosphere of distrust, uncertainty, and insecurity among residents. The buildings became a playground for transients to do drugs in the stairwells, on the pool deck, under the pool, and in the fitness center, among other places. They then started to break in and squat in occupied and empty units, gaining rights under California law.

When Greystar Management took over, the situation worsened significantly. Tenants experienced harassment from personnel. Due to constant communication breakdowns via email and office phone, tenants from all five buildings were forced to visit the only leasing office available at SB Tower (formerly known as Thurman Lofts). Each visit to voice complaints was met with rude, dismissive, and disturbing responses, often resulting in management calling LAPD. This led to multiple impromptu office protests demanding to be heard and for uninhabitable conditions to be addressed.

The situation escalated further when both tenants' union leaders' vehicles were vandalized in direct retaliation while parked on the property. One tenant union leader even brought a moldy refrigerator to the office, while the other was assaulted twice by Greystar Management personnel. Soon after, Greystar was replaced with FPI Management, but the same actions continued, resulting in a repeat of outcomes.

The SB Tenants Union came together and drafted a Joint Complaint, serving it to FPI Management and the owners, Laguna Point Properties, both in-person and via email. At each community meeting held by the strategic counsel sent in by Laguna Point Properties, the SB Tenants Union leader was present, voicing concerns for each location and serving management with SBTU Complaints from 300+ tenants regarding the issues in their individual units. Tensions escalated further when one of the tenant union leaders was assaulted again by the senior property manager in front of office staff and residents, while on camera. This footage can be found on our social media accounts @sbbuildingsdtla and @sbtudtla.

New staff rotated in and out weekly, creating instability, confusion, and distrust. Laguna Point Properties sent in a strategic counsel who promised to address the community's concerns, wasted a lot of time having “community meetings,” but ultimately disappeared. The building was stated to have been sold again to Fifteen Group, a Delaware Company, exactly one year after the first sale in April 2023, although they bought into a partnership with Fifteen Group as the face of the company.

Throughout this entire time, multiple residents received illegal Unlawful Detainers in retaliation for our complaints to the property authorities, Los Angeles Housing Department, and Los Angeles Department of Public Health.

Despite repeated attempts to address these issues, they remain unresolved. Our community is in dire need of assistance. We call on management to take immediate action to rectify these problems.

Recent Management Changes and Continued Neglect - Dec 2023 - Current

In November 2023, FPI Management was released from their contract and replaced with Avenue5 Residential in December 2023. However, since Avenue5 Residential's arrival, very little has been accomplished. The SB Tenants Union served Avenue5 Residential agents with a 26-page detailed Revitalization Proposal upon their arrival, hoping to make them aware of all the issues rendering our buildings uninhabitable and to receive a timeline of repairs to fully cooperate with management in rehabilitating our community. Despite our efforts, we have been ignored.

The building continues to suffer from numerous malfunctions, including floods, no hot water, malfunctioning HVAC systems, exploding boilers, leaking sprinkler systems, flooding parking garages, pest infestations, ventilation issues, visible mold, building floods, fires, Diesel spills and more.

A Call to Action: Support for Changing Tenant Rights Law

We urge you to sign this petition in support of changing tenants' rights laws throughout California. Our goal is to make landlord repercussions for breaching a lease as severe as those tenants face when evicted through an Unlawful Detainer Judgment by the Superior Courts. Such judgments damage tenants' credit and rental reputation for seven years, often forcing individuals to live with others or sublease illegally.

Sign Now to Support Tenant Rights and Hold Landlords Accountable!

Together, we can fight for justice, better living conditions, and fair tenant rights across California. Your support is crucial to our cause. Thank you for standing with us.