10 Worst LA Landlords

10 of LA’s worst landlords
A handful of landlords are wreaking havoc on the lives of thousands of tenants. Using HCIDLA data and tenant testimony, in combination with information provided by the LA Tenants Union, the Coalition for Economic Survival, and the Eviction Defense Network, as well as reports in the press, we have compiled a list of 10 of the worst.

The following list is compiled from three sources: data procured from the HCIDLA, experts in the field (in particular Elena Popp of the Eviction Defense Network, Larry Gross of the Coalition for Economic Survival, and the Los Angeles Tenants Union), and published accounts in the Los Angeles press. The data reviewed roughly covers the period from 2005 to 2016 (with some data going back to 2000) and includes the amount of complaints filed with HCIDLA about each building, description of the complaints, dates, and building addresses, as well as owner names and owner addresses.

A code violation deals with the physical quality of the building—leaky sinks, crumbling walls, bug infestations. A rent violation deals with the contractual relationship between the landlord and tenant—illegal evictions, reduction of services, nonpayment of relocation assistance fees. In compiling this list, we first considered how many complaints had been filed for each landlord's building, if they had multiple buildings on the most complained-about list, and how many code complaints were found to be actual violations. We then consulted tenants and experts in the field. Finally, we rounded out our methodology with Yelp reviews and prior press coverage of the landlords.

Steven Taylor — Ness Properties
2041 Commonwealth: 397 rent complaints, 27 code complaints

Other known addresses:

6565 Fountain Avenue

1420 Mansfield Avenue

730 South Serrano Avenue

6021 to 6029 Carlton Way

Steven Taylor is known for relentlessly forcing tenants out of the properties he buys using any means necessary. One of his latest purchases, 2041 Commonwealth Avenue in Los Feliz, is the most complained-about building in the city, drawing nearly 400 rent and 30 code complaints in the two years since he’s owned it. In his buildings, tenants are regularly intimidated, threatened with lies, harassed with illegal weekend repairs, and driven away by illegal construction, according to Larry Gross of the Coalition for Economic Survival. Taylor has been caught fraudulently obtaining building permits from the city, and is known for making cheap, flimsy upgrades that fail shortly after apartments are rented.

“Almost on a daily basis we’re dealing with them trying to drive people out by making their lives miserable and getting them to move. He’s a poster child for bad landlords in LA.” —Larry Gross, director of the Coalition for Economic Survival

Anil Mehta — JK Properties
1630 West Third: 103 code complaints, 97 rent complaints

15115 West Parthenia: 93 code complaints

Anil Mehta owns thousands of units across the Southland. We visited one of his buildings in Westlake and found frustrated tenants who say they have been harassed, ignored, and forced to pay for repairs themselves. The grounds appear dirty and dilapidated. No wonder he is one of the few landlords to have not one, but two buildings on the list of most complained-about in the city in the past 10 years. When approached about the complaints, he said that all the complaints related to one single unit, “#103.” However, “103” is not a unit number, but the number of complaints against that building.

“They don’t fix anything. They cut off the water every now and then. Not hot water. No water at all. They give no explanation. People who live down under me move in and move out immediately because it’s always leaking. They tried to charge me $50 to fix my leaky sink. They try to charge you for everything.” —Juanita, tenant

Monica Hujazi
621 South Union Avenue: 134 code complaints

1645 North Alexandria Avenue: 111 code complaints

Monica Hujazi is an infamous slumlord, and the data shows her to be among the worst of the worst when it comes to code violations. She has been repeatedly sued and lost in court to the tune of over $10 million. She’s even been convicted on criminal charges and sentenced to time in jail for the way she’s treated her tenants and the condition of her buildings. She is one of the few landlords to have multiple buildings on the most complained-about list.

“Asked about her years in the building, Cuevas, an immigrant from Mexico who works sewing clothes, suddenly appeared as though she might cry. She recalled the time dirty water spewed from the pipes and the landlord balked at replacing her carpet until a city inspector ordered otherwise. The day the ceiling fell in. And, worst of all, the bedbugs. "My kids would say, ‘Mommy, we can't sleep. Mommy, the bedbugs.’” —LA Times

Rodney Goldberg — Raymond Management
733 Garland Avenue: 128 code complaints, 185 rent complaints

1318 Maryland Street: 26 code complaints

Rodney Goldberg is one of the more low-profile awful landlords in the city. His many shell LLCs and side businesses (including a washing machine installation company) make him very difficult to track down. He was the only landlord we attempted to contact who did not respond in any way. Goldberg is accused of being a serial evictor who buys buildings and forces people out via devious methods, particularly loud repairs at all hours.

“They’re trying to force people out. That’s why they make so much noise. There’s a lot of new tenants and they’re just running over the old tenants. The workers are almost provoking stuff to happen. A worker slammed a door in my face once, like he wanted to fight. They had a fire alarm that was beeping 24/7. I called in and said ‘I’m gonna pull it out of the wall.’ They said if you do that, you have to pay for it.” —Don, a tenant; things got so bad in Don’s building that the tenants organized a small protest on the sidewalk in front of the building

Matthew Jacobs — Bulldog, LLC
755 North Laurel Avenue

Matthew Jacobs makes the list for a special reason. While he was taking advantage of the Ellis Act to mass-evict residents in Beverly Grove and Fairfax, he was also heading the board of the California Housing Finance Agency, a state agency charged with creating “safe, decent, and affordable-housing opportunities for low to moderate income Californians.” Unsurprisingly, under Jacobs’s not-so-watchful eye, the agency did a very poor job, creating only 10,000 affordable housing units since 2001. When the press caught wind of Jacobs’s clear conflicts of interest, he resigned from the position at CHFA.

“[A]t the same time he was chairperson of the state of California Housing Finance Agency, whose mission is to provide affordable housing for the state, at the time he was destroying rent-control housing. We mounted a statewide campaign around that, and eventually got him removed from the agency. One of the buildings he was attempting to Ellis, we were able to get a historical designation so he couldn’t demolish it.” —Larry Gross

Jeff Scapa and William Silverman — Scapa Silverman Properties
1655-65 North Rodney Drive: 78 rent complaints

Jeff Scapa and William Silverman made headlines after drawing the ire of the LA Tenants Union for mass-evicting apartment complexes in Hollywood using the Ellis Act. Scapa and Silverman are accused of being particularly brazen in their legal manipulation: After the evictions, they reportedly turned around and immediately re-rented the apartments, allegedly avoiding enforcement of Ellis Act regulations that prevent units from going back on the market by accepting cash under the table. The duo owns properties all over Hollywood, where they have operated for over a decade.

“I’ve been here for 23 years,” said evicted resident Mark Simon. “I moved here in November of ’92. And it was such a stable home for me, I never expected to move — as did so many of us. It totally shatters your system. I really, honest to god, have not had a great night’s sleep [since being evicted].” —Capital and Main

Michael Cohanzad — Wiseman
1332, 1342 North Formosa Avenue

Over the last decade, Michael Cohanzad’s company Wiseman has evicted at least 237 tenants from rent-controlled properties in Los Angeles. He is known as a rampant Ellis Act abuser who takes decent affordable units off the market in order to create luxury ones, and is a primary target of both the LA Tenants Union and the Eviction Defense Network..

“Cohanzad is known for abuse of Ellis Act re rentals via Airbnb, harassment of tenants through systematic removal of services, entering units without permission, and leaving empty units open and unlocked. He also has filed SLAPP lawsuits [frivolous lawsuits meant to intimidate] on tenants.” —LA Tenants Union

Gary Goren — Prosper Properties, Inc.
323 North New Hampshire Avenue

Gary Goren is a bad actor on the radar of both the LA Tenants Union and the Eviction Defense Network. When tenants complained about harassment they say was designed to drive them from the building, he filed to have them removed under the Primary Renovation Program, which allows landlords to temporarily evict, and ultimately raise the rents of, tenants in buildings undergoing substantial improvement projects. However, his Tenant Habitability Plan (required to provide for the relocation of the tenants under the program) was found to be grossly inadequate. In the time that it took for the city to eventually reject Goren’s request, he allegedly harassed tenants until most of them left anyway.

“Goren came in and offered voluntary relocation agreements. He got increasingly aggressive with tenants that refused the voluntary relocation agreements. I believe it is 12 units and nine left in response to this harassment. Only three remain. The owner continued to harass including nearly daily visits and threats of eviction. He uses a stick and carrot strategy. He offers relocation funds and then uses threats. Another offer of funds and then more threats. Another offer of funds and then construction noise for a day.” —Elena Popp, Eviction Defense Network

John C. Chiu — PCJF-TQ, LLC
8525-9010 North Tobias Avenue: at least 45 code complaints, at least 41 rent complaints

John C. Chiu, a neurosurgeon in Newbury Park, makes the list for the sheer prolificness of his neglect. He’s one of the most complained-about landlords in the city, but not because he’s a serial evictor. It’s for another reason: cockroaches. In Yelp review after Yelp review, Chiu is revealed as the roach king of Los Angeles. His building’s Yelp page reads like an encyclopedia on cockroach entomology.

“COCKROACHES HAVE INFESTED THE ENTIRE BUILDING! STAY FAR AWAY! I asked all my neighbors and they ALL have cockroaches in their units. On average, I killed about 10-15 cockroaches of various sizes PER DAY! The management does nothing to solve the root cause of the problem, they refuse to give everyone a rent credit to move everyone out for a few days so that they can fumigate the entire building, so the problem will never be solved. … THIS BUILDING HAS TO BE KNOCKED DOWN AND BUILT FROM SCRATCH TO GET RID OF THE COCKROACH INFESTATION PROBLEM!” —Zach M., Yelp (every review mentions the roaches many, many times)

Michael Schall — Essex Property Trust
222 South Figueroa Street: 311 rent complaints

22222 West Victory Boulevard: 89 rent complaints

Real-estate-award-winning tycoon Michael Schall is a colossus of California real estate; chances are you've run into either Essex or BRE (which merged with Essex in 2014) if you've ever searched for an apartment in LA or San Diego. Essex, which is public, has racked up around 400 rent complaints, many regarding reduction of services and illegal rent increases, the vast majority of which occurred in the last several years. That’s the highest total of anyone on our list. Essex, its tenants at the Bunker Hill Towers, and residents of a neighboring condo tower were embroiled in a battle for several years over upgrades and access to the pool area; it was finally resolved last year.

“The security and maintenance staff are nice and helpful as they can be but Essex management is the worst in LA hands down. They do not enable their on site staff to assist with anything. The manager here is just a poor guy probably thought that he was getting setup with a great job when really he's just a scapegoat for the rest of the leasing staff.

“In any case after being illegally over charged for rent for the last three years I was only credited for the difference I was over charged and rent amount corrected but no additional compensation was provided to rectify the situation. If the shoe was on the other foot they would have put the ringer on late fees and whatever other charges they can think of.” —Yelp