Several tenants of a Newhall apartment building have chosen to end their residencies after a new owner increased rental prices by as much as 69% this summer, SCVTalk has learned.
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Vacancies at 24857 Walnut Street are on the rise following Hollywood Carlton Properties’ purchase of the complex in July for $2.38 million. In August, tenants were notified of rent increases on all 18 units. The complex currently has 5 vacancies, and more residents plan to vacate by the end of September to avoid the rate increases.
Theresa Rupp, 36, has lived at 24857 Walnut Street with her family for over twelve years. On average, she says, her rent was raised under 10% each year. She was shocked to learn that rent for her 23 year old two bedroom apartment was raised 69% by the new owner just weeks before the start of the school year.
“It’s been my home for twelve years. I love this neighborhood, but I have to get out of here,” said Rupp, who’s mother also rents a unit at the apartment complex.
In August, Rupp’s rent was $823.50; next month her rent will rise to $1395. “[The rent] is comparable to rent in Valencia apartments with a washer, a dryer, and a community pool. We have nothing.”
A&G Realty Group of La Crescenta manages 24857 Walnut Street and several other Walnut Street apartments for two different owners. The firm initially gave residents 30 days written notice of the rent price increase on August 4, 2006 in a brief letter that referred to California Civil Code Section 827, which regulates the notification of rental price increases.
But according to the code, residents must be given an additional 30 days notice if the rental price is increased more than 10%. In the case of 24857 Walnut, several of the rents were increased by more than 10%. After numerous complaints, tenants say, the firm decided to extend August rental prices into October, but many tenants had already chosen to leave.
“It’s financial harassment,” said Jose Perez, 31, an educator at Hart High School and a two year tenant at the apartment building, referring to his rent increase of over 60%.
Perez said that rent on his two bedroom apartment was raised from $876 per month to $1395 per month after the property was sold in July. He plans to move to Simi Valley as a result of the increase.
Walnut Street apartment buildings typically have larger floor plans than many apartments in Santa Clarita. However, rents in the area have traditionally been cheaper than rents in neighboring Valencia due to a lack of amenities, location and the age of the buildings.
On Labor Day weekend, trash and debris piled up at the back of the property, as tenants prepared to leave the complex prior to September 4th. Several tenants said that promised improvements to the property have been slow to come.
“The apartment needs repairs. It has a weak floor, a hole in the ceiling, and they’re going to raise the rent?” asked Perez, after carrying possessions out to his truck.
In several letters to tenants at 24857 Walnut Street, A&G Realty Group has promised to clean up debris at the property, replace carpet, and renovate interiors and exteriors. But tenants have not cooperated with A&G’s repair schedule, the company alleges.
“Tenants refused access when we tried to improve their living space,” said A&G Realty Group President Giovanna Purvis in an email to SCVTalk.com.
There are indications that rents and vacancies are on the rise at other A&G Managed properties on Walnut Street. Red “For Rent” signs and green “Under New Management” banners hung from apartment buildings at the Elms at 24969 and 25016 Walnut Street.
According to a tenant who did not wish to be named at The Elms apartments, rents for his two bedroom apartment were raised from $940 per month to $1260 per month or 34% in August.
“It’s very expensive. I don’t know if I will stay,” said the man, who has lived at the Elms with his family of four for 6 years. The Elms were bought in May for $2.8 million by Santa Monica based Xenon Investment Corporation, and are also managed by A&G.
However, A&G Realty Group claims that rental rates in Newhall have been undervalued for years. “These residents have been very lucky to be living in units priced below market for so many years,” Purvis said. “We are achieving our asking prices which are higher than the amounts increased to the current tenants.”
Tenants were also upset with the approach taken by A&G Realty Group to clean up the property. In a letter dated August 24th, A&G told residents that "on Friday August 25th, all personal items from all common areas/parking areas...will be removed by the workman and thrown away."
But Rupp alleges that the cleanup was not professional. "The workman that they hired [to clean the common areas] proceeded to pick and choose what he wanted to throw away and what he wanted to keep," said Rupp.
Other apartment buildings in this older, grid-patterned area of Newhall just east of Newhall Avenue have seen less drastic increases in recent years. A 2 bedroom apartment at 22725 14th Street, just a half block away from Walnut Street, rents for $1250 per month, while a 2 bedroom unit at 25016 Walnut, also managed by A&G, would rent for $1450 per month if one were available.
Given the price increases in the area, Rupp says, Newhall renters may have no choice but to cohabitate with other families and income earners in a single apartment. She says that is already taking place at 24857 Walnut.
“A husband, a wife, a baby, and three more adult males moved [into a 2 bedroom unit] on September 1st,” Rupp said.
Rupp is currently in escrow on a house purchase in Saugus, but she worries about friends and families she has gotten to know over the years at the apartment building.
“Where are they going to go?” she asks. “This was one of the last affordable places in Santa Clarita.”
Note: The City of Santa Clarita’s Affordable Housing division could not be reached for comment on Friday. None of the apartments in this story are listed with the City’s Affordable Housing program. The City’s website contains maps on income, population density, and housing costs for the Santa Clarita Valley.
Tenants upset as Newhall Apartment rental prices increase
Tenants upset as Newhall Apartment rental prices increase
Attributed to Jeff Wilson (editor-supplied)
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