A 70-acre apartment complex in Boyle Heights is among LA’s top ‘problem rental properties’

Wyvernwood Garden Apartments in Boyle Heights ranks among the top “problem rental properties” in the city of Los Angeles, according to data released by City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

The 70-acre complex, which includes nearly 1,200 units, appears multiple times in the city’s database under different addresses associated with the same ownership group. One Wyvernwood address ranked fifth citywide with 103 housing violation cases, but a review by Boyle Heights Beat found the entries collectively totaled 225 housing violation cases tied to properties within the complex.

The reported cases involve allegations of illegal evictions and rent increases, as well as a reduction of services and harassment from December 2013 through November 2025.

Ian Sanders of the Fifteen Group and Thurman Interim California LLC are listed as owners of the complex. The Miami-based Fifteen Group did not respond to a request for comment.

The dashboard includes a search tool for LA residential addresses with reported housing violation cases, a list of the top 100 addresses with the most housing violation cases and an interactive map.

The data comes amid growing tenant complaints at the sprawling complex, which stretches between 8th Street and Olympic Boulevard, over rent charges, maintenance issues and alleged harassment. 

Wyvernwood resident Damien Gonzalez, 27, told Boyle Heights Beat his family’s rent has increased between six and eight times in the last four years. His family pays about $1,600 a month for their two-bedroom apartment, he said. 

Necessary repairs take weeks, and the fixes are often superficial, Gonzalez added. 

“Our bathtub was messed up, but when they fixed it, they left a hole in the ceiling on the first floor below it,” Gonzalez said.  “They just covered the hole with cardboard and left it that way.”

Earlier this month, La Opinión reported that residents accused former property manager FAM, of making changes to their accounts without notice and imposing unexplained surcharges, even when residents had made no errors in their rent payments. The property is now managed by Asset Living.

“The stress they’ve caused me landed me in the hospital,” Lorena Creano, 47, told La Opinión. 

Creano reported continuous monthly fluctuations in the amount of rent she’s required to pay. “I have always submitted my payments on time, but management claims they never receive the money orders and imposes illegal surcharges on me,” Creano said to La Opinión, which reviewed copies of her payment receipts. 

Between March and April, her account balance fluctuated from $1,537.24 to $1,673.17, and then to $1,968.73 and $2,118.73, according to La Opinión.

La Opinión also reported that dozens of Wyvernwood Garden Apartments tenants recently gathered in front of the leasing office to denounce deplorable conditions: cracked linoleum floors, windows that won’t close, moldy bathrooms, grime-caked carpets, broken faucets, graffiti, and gardens turned into fields of dirt and weeds.

Ana Karen Alcocer, an organizer with Union de Vecinos, the Los Angeles Tenants Union’s Eastside Local chapter, told Boyle Heights Beat that since 2023 she has helped tenants file more than 300 complaints with the Los Angeles Housing Department. 

The complaints include allegations of health code violations, failure to make repairs, insurance fraud, reduction of services and a proposed online-only payment system that would disadvantage aging tenants without bank accounts.

The Los Angeles Housing Department told La Opinión and the Beat that it has been in contact with Wyvernwood tenants since complaints were filed, including an in-person meeting with roughly two dozen residents in April 2025. The department also said it had reviewed about 40 tenant complaints and rental agreements and requested compliance from the property owner in cases where potential Rent Stabilization Ordinance violations were identified.

The Housing Department could not confirm the number of active investigations by publication time.

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, in a statement to Boyle Heights Beat, said her office has met with residents at Wyvernwood Apartments and has remained in communication with tenant leaders to “ensure their complaints are elevated and addressed.” 

Jurado said her office is also partnering with Union de Vecinos to launch monthly tenant rights workshops providing practical tools for understanding tenants’ rights, navigating landlord disputes, and filing complaints with the Los Angeles Housing Department.

“Nearly 70% of CD14 residents are renters, and our district currently faces the highest number of evictions citywide,” Jurado said in the statement. “My office is committed to strengthening enforcement, expanding tenant protections, and standing alongside the communities organizing to keep their neighbors housed.”

Andrew Lopez contributed to this story.