Eden Roc ownership, management accused of pushing tenants out of their homes

Tenants of Eden Roc Apartments claim to have been given very little option on if they stay or go. Photo by Alex Dominguez

DOWNEY - Residents of a Downey apartment complex are finding themselves increasingly frustrated with ownership and management, claiming that increased rent gouging is forcing them out of their homes.

Tenants of the 36-unit Eden Roc Apartment complex, located at 10237 Western Ave, recently received letters offering an incentive of $4,150 plus their entire security deposit to vacate their homes by Oct. 1. Another incentive was also offered for residents to leave by Oct 12, to a smaller tune of $3,350 plus deposit.

However, many of those who live at Eden Roc are saying that they are being led to believe that they will be forced to leave the apartment complex whether they take the incentive or not.

Catherine Alvarez, who has lived at Eden Roc for five years, says concerns began when Winstar Properties purchased the complex around five months ago.

“As soon as they arrived, they started raising the rent right away,” said Alvarez.

Alvarez claims that she and other tenants have had to pay around 30-34 percent increase in their rent. This, apparently, was to go towards renovation of the apartment complex as a whole.

However, Alvarez and others have said that the upgrades that took place were superficial at best.

“They only remodeled outside, not on the inside,” said Alvarez. “They’re not doing what they have to do.”

Another resident, 19-year-old Leslie Hernandez, seconded these claims. Hernandez has lived at Eden Rock her entire life, and her family even longer.

“All they really did was paint the outside,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez said that it feels as though that tenants are being priced out of their apartments, so that updates can be made to produce more of a profit later on.

“They didn’t say it directly, but they’re making it seem like they just want the rent to be at a point where people can’t afford it so they can move out, so that they can renovate the apartments to make them look nicer and then rent them out for higher process later on once they’re all remodeled,” said Hernandez.

According to Alvarez, the apartment manager has been adamant that there will be a price increase, although a representative from Winstar who arrived to speak with tenants claimed otherwise.

Hernandez says, however, that the representative only seemed to change her tune when press vans arrived to cover the story, and has since reversed back to support of another rent hike.

“She made it seem like she was on our side,” said Hernandez. “The next day…they set up coffee and donuts in the office, and anybody was welcome to go over there to talk. Not a lot of people went from what I’ve heard, but to the people who did go, she was saying that what the manager had said initially was what was going to happen…the increase and everything.”

“She kind of came here… to support the manager I’m guessing, but that same day people from the news came. Once she saw all the news and all the people, because of the pressure of the situation she started cooperating.”

When contacted for comment, apartment manager Andres Delgado referred the Downey Patriot to Winstar, saying that he didn’t want to provide any incorrect information and he was “just trying to do my job.”

The Winstar representative did not respond to a call and email requesting comment.

Both Alvarez and Hernandez, however, have also pinned blame on Delgado, claiming that he evicts whoever he wishes and does not communicate information back and forth between Winstar and the Eden Roc residents.

“The manager has been here for over 25 years, and he does whatever he wants to the tenants,” said Alvarez. “If he says ‘you move,’ then you have to move.”

“He’s not even getting the info out there,” said Alvarez. “It’s not happening…I called [Windstar] and asked them what’s going on with this letter, and they said ‘You have to communicate with your manager.’ I’m not going to communicate with my manager…I don’t actually trust what the manager is going to tell me.”

Delgado has not responded to a follow up call for comment.