An affordable housing complex for Hollywood workers grapples with tenant complaints

Dozens of tenants at an affordable housing complex for arts and entertainment workers are in rebellion amid a dispute over a rent increase and other alleged issues at the Hollywood property.

A group of residents at the Hollywood Arts Collective released a statement Thursday accusing Thomas Safran & Associates, the property management company, and the Entertainment Community Fund, which helped develop the project, of luring them into signing leases under false pretenses.

“After just one year of existence, tenants have been advised by property management, Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA), that their rent WILL BE increased every year,” the resident group said in a press release.

“This is in spite of multiple false verbal promises made to prospective tenants during the application process that rent would not be raised, or if it were to be, that the raises would be minimal, at 2-3%. … The struggle to pursue a dream in Hollywood led many of the tenants to a living nightmare.”

The management company denies misleading tenants and contends that the terms of residency, including potential rent increases, were clearly outlined in the contracts that they signed. Jordan Pynes, president of TSA, called the tenant uprising “very disheartening” in a statement.

“We are saddened and disappointed that some residents of the Hollywood Arts Collective are unhappy with the property,” Pynes said.

“TSA is committed to providing exceptional affordable housing to residents in Hollywood and around Southern California, and the assertion that we did not properly disclose how the affordable Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program works for this project is simply not true.”

Keith McNutt, executive director of the Entertainment Community Fund’s Western Region, said in a statement that the nonprofit organization “remains dedicated to supporting the performing arts and entertainment community at The Cicely Tyson Residential Building (part of The Hollywood Arts Collective)” in collaboration with the property manager.

This type of quarrel is common at Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties, according to Anya Lawler, a legislative advocate for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

“The way that rents are set in LIHTC properties does not guarantee that tenants’ rent will stay affordable over time, and tenants are often unaware of that,” Lawler said.

“It can be really jarring to find out that they’re living in an affordable property, and their rent … can continue to go up in ways that they can’t afford. And it’s a real problem. The whole system is in need of rethinking and reform.”

Billed as a haven for struggling artists, the complex began housing residents in April 2023. The 10-story building on Schrader Boulevard boasts 151 units.

Applicants had to prove they work in a creative field and make 80% or less of the area median income. Rent prices were set between 30% and 50% of tenants’ monthly income at move-in.

After TSA notified residents in August of an impending 7% rent increase, nearly 40 tenants emailed letters protesting the rent spike and airing grievances, including malfunctioning fire alarms and elevator breakdowns.

“As a working low-income artist, this news is financially devastating, and represents a break of confidence in the mission that the Hollywood Arts Collective claims to represent,” the letters read.

Elena Theisner, vice president of property management at TSA, responded to residents’ concerns by scheduling a community meeting. She cited rising operational costs as the primary reason for the rent increase in an email to tenants.

Following the meeting, Theisner told The Times on Sept. 25 that TSA had reached a compromise with residents by agreeing to lower the rent increase to 4%, schedule an informational session and hold quarterly meetings with tenants.

Some residents, however, were not satisfied.

On Oct. 30, the newly formed Hollywood Arts Collective Tenants Assn. emailed TSA and the Entertainment Community Fund a list of demands, including providing new accommodations for residents with disabilities, covering the cost of utilities, enhancing building security and abolishing the rent increase altogether.

Julia Mata, a resident and organizer at the Hollywood Arts Collective Tenants Assn., told The Times that 39 residents signed the demand letter.

On Nov. 5, the building managers provided written responses to each of the association’s demands. They stuck to the 4% rent increase, explaining that the collective is not rent controlled or project-based Section 8 housing, which keeps tenants’ rent payments capped at roughly 30% of their income.

“This is not unique to this building — annual rent increases are normal and to be expected at Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects,” the response from management read.

The building managers also declined to cover residents’ utility costs beyond existing discounts or provide additional security measures. They were more amenable when it came to disability accommodations and community amenities — granting some and agreeing to consider others.

Central to the conflict are various artist-friendly facilities — such as a recording studio, galleries and a theater — that residents say were never provided or were falsely advertised as perks.

McNutt said in a statement that a number of services will be available to Hollywood Arts Collective residents starting in 2025. Those services will include career and financial wellness workshops.

McNutt added that the fund is working with the city to begin construction on the Rita Moreno Arts Building — a structure next to the apartment complex with a 71-seat theater to be rented for rehearsals, performances, film screenings and other purposes.

Targeted for completion in 2026, the arts building is not intended to be “a direct amenity solely for residential tenants” — though residents may be permitted to use the theater when it isn’t being loaned out, according to a document provided to The Times.

“This has been a much more lengthy process than anticipated,” McNutt said in a statement, “but will deliver more wonderful amenities for the local community in Hollywood, including a beautiful new theater, two gallery spaces for non-profit arts partners and our new training center.”

The building management team is scheduled to meet with disabled tenants Tuesday evening to review their requests, which included accommodations for individual units and more accessible parking spots. The Hollywood Arts Collective Tenants Assn. is expected to hold a news conference Wednesday.