Lorena Creano represents one of the worst cases of alleged harassment by the management of the Wyvernwood Backyard apartments, located at 2901 E. Olympic Boulevard, where at least 1,200 families reside, mostly Latino.
“The stress they caused me led me to end up in the sanatorium,” said the 47-year-old woman, who reported continuous monthly changes in the amount of money she must pay for rent.
She’s not the only one.
Numerous residents interviewed by La Opinión denounced that the administration of the Wyvernwood Backyard Apartments, managed by the company FAM, makes changes to their accounts without notifying them and applies surcharges that are not explained to them, even without having made errors in their rental payments.
“I have always deposited my payments on time, but the administration says they do not receive money orders and they impose illegal surcharges,” said Ms. Creano.
Between March and April, his bill ranged from $1,537.24 to $1,673.17, and from $1,968.73 to $$2,118.73.
She, who has lived in the Wyvenwood apartments for 23 years, provided copies of her receipts to La Opinión, where it was verified that she made her payments on time to the owners of the apartments, the company Thurmond Intervening time LLC, of Livonia, Michigan.
In addition to the problems of hidden charges, Lorena’s struggle was compounded by the trauma she and her children suffered from a recent murder in the 2800 block of Glenn Avenue in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.
Indeed, on Monday, April 13, at approximately 8:01 pm, an alleged gang leader was shot to death.
“Here, everything is too dark and there is little police surveillance,” said the woman of Mexican origin.
Deteriorated housing and poor quality of life
Like Lorena, dozens of tenants of the Wyvernwood Backyard apartments demonstrated in front of the leasing office to denounce the deplorable conditions in which they live: cracked linoleum floors, windows that do not close, moldy bathrooms, carpets full of filth, unusable water faucets, graphite, gardens converted into fields of dirt and weeds.
The online images of Wyvernwood Backyard Residences completely contrast with the reality of those who live there.
“The toilet doesn’t work well and entering the tub is a risk,” said Crescencia Bárcenas, who lives in one of the apartment buildings.
“I also have problems with the bathroom,” added Silvia Cruz.
“The floor at the entrance to the kitchen has peeled off and you can fall,” said Genoveva De la Torre. “My husband is an invalid and I am very afraid that one day he will fall.”
“There is a lot of vandalism in this area, and you protect yourself with your flower pots so that they don’t enter your house. We don’t have protection. That’s why I don’t want them to cut my plants or threaten to throw away my flower pots.”
Neighbors of the Wyvernwood Backyard apartments claim that the “poor
management is the cause of all their problems, including the privatization of parking lots.
“Now they rent them for $250 a month in addition to the rent,” said Joel Hernández, 58 years old. “I pay $1,238 in rent, but I always get ‘cash expose’ [giros postales] “They are lost and we add additional charges.”
Supposedly, the tenants who live in the neighborhood had access to two parking spaces written into their contract.
Laws on paper that are not respected
Griselda Jiménez, originally from Veracruz, expressed frustration at the lack of respect from those who manage the apartments and the elimination of mailboxes where they deposited their rent payments.
“They now want to force us to do everything through superhighway files, and many of us don’t even know how the procedure is done,” he added.
The nearly 70-acre, rent-controlled apartment complex in Boyle Heights has 1,175 units and is home to a lot of tenants.
“In a single month, FPI management collects hundreds of thousands of dollars, including apparent illegal surcharges on low-income families,” said Ana Karen Alcocer, an organizer with the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Union.
“Los Angeles has laws that protect tenants from harassment, but in practice they are not being applied,” Alcocer added. “The hidden charges are non-stop and the homes are uninhabitable and unsanitary; the landlord (Thurman LLC) and the management company (FAM Administration Company) continue to escalate the harassment in the form of reductions in services, hidden charges and ongoing harassment, violating TAHO and tenant protection ordinances.”
Terrible health and safety conditions
Alcocer reported that tenants of the Wyvernwood Backyard apartments have filed more than 300 complaints with the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) for health code violations, lack of repairs, insurance fraud, and the latest plan to force all residents to pay online, leaving seniors and tenants who do not have access to a bank account without a free and accessible payment option.
“Even though tenants have filed hundreds of complaints, the harassment has not stopped and repairs remain unmade,” Alcocer said.
The tenants urgently requested the intervention of the Department of Housing to take action regarding their situation and for the complaints to be turned into a thorough investigation by the City of Los Angeles Anti-Tenant Harassment Ordinance (TAHO Act).
They also demand that the management company respect the rights of the tenants; comply with housing and health standards to provide safe and decent living conditions for all tenants; cease the harassment and 4 restore all services previously included in the contract.
Both Wyvernwood Backyard Residences management and District 14 Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado ignored requests for comment.
LAHD’s response
“The LAHD has maintained contact with the tenants and their representative since the complaints were filed. This includes an in-person meeting between LAHD staff and the tenants on April 2, 2025, which was attended by the representative and 20 to 30 tenants,” responded Sharon Sandow, on behalf of the Los Angeles Housing Department.
“During these communications, LAHD requested documentation from tenants. Approximately 40 rental contracts were submitted. LAHD staff reviewed all contracts submitted and, in cases where an RSO violation was detected, [Rent Stabilization Ordinance/Ordenanza de Estabilización de Renta]the LAHD required the owner to comply with the regulations.”
The spokesperson clarified that the issue of parking in the housing complex was not considered to constitute a violation of the RSO, since the customary parking stipulated in the rental agreement—which established unassigned parking spaces—continues to be provided and said service has not been canceled.
He recommended that if there have been any changes regarding parking, the LAHD be notified.
“LAHD will continue to provide assistance to tenants who submit documentation on other issues, such as late fees,” he said. “Documentation is better, since the result of each determination depends on the specific documentation provided by each tenant. If the evidence presented by the tenants shows a violation of the RSO, the LAHD undertakes to intervene with the property owner in order to reach a resolution.”
