I have been living in Los Angeles for 5 years and within these 5 years, I have moved many many times, however Park La Brea is the WORST apartment experience BY FAR. Let me start with the apartment unit first. I moved into a garden villa in Park La Brea in July 2008 and quickly moved out by February 2009. The first day I moved in, swarms of wasps were inside the unit. They were not coming in from the windows or doors as they were shut tight. The following day, I came home after work to over 10 grasshoppers and crickets inside my closet, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. This was just the beginning. Over the 6 months of living there, I came home from work EVERYDAY finding the following inside my apartment: Adult cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, garden spiders, spider eggs, beetles, beetle egg sacs, wasps, wasp hives, and worms inside the bathtub (please see picture attached for preview of what to find in your unit if you decide to rent with PLB). It got to a point where I drove to Orange County every night to stay with my sister as I could not stand the amount of insects inside the unit any longer. I had taped shut all my windows and installed sealers below my door frames to prevent the insects from coming in, but they kept coming out of sinks and cracks from the old building. I called the maintenance at PLB continuously and they never fixed any of the problems. This is an apartment unit costing me $1,500 a month to live with insects. Let me also point out that my unit did not have any plug outlets inside the bathroom, no AC, $35 a month for parking, and rusted water from the faucets.
Finally, I decided to move out in February 2009. I notified the management office and they gave me directions (in a very unfriendly, rude manner) on how to terminate my lease. I gave them my 30 day notice and made sure I documented all the insects inside the apartment. I followed the instructions they gave me and 3 weeks later, I receive a letter in the mail from an attorneys office representing PLB suing me for $12,300!!!!! They claimed that I failed to follow their agreement and is now collecting 12 G's for their problems!! I called the Leasing office and the lady I spoke with RUDELY told me they are not allowed to speak to me regarding this case and transferred me to Christina, who not only did not answer the call (what a surprise) but also never called back nor responded to my message. Let me re-iterate how rude and unprofessional their management and leasing agents are at PLB. From a scale of 1 to 10, I give this place a -300!!! In all my years living in Los Angeles and renting apartments, this is by far, the most ridiculous place I've ever lived. Don't be fooled by the fake exteriors of this place....its a trick!! I would hate for anyone else to go through this, especially getting sued for $12,000 to live in a pile of bug collection, and when you are at no wrong!!! Luckily, California law protects tenants from evil apartment complexes like Park La Brea Apartments! odusyNYCcZ7yL3Bj5JtG

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/25/2009
You have my sympathy. I was treated exactly the same way when I lived there. It's really horrible.
From: design99	Date: 02/25/2009
I am so glad to hear others feel the same way about Park La Brea.
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/26/2009
We had almost the same problem. We moved in 9/2005 and moved out 2/2006, also breaking the lease and also getting one of those letters. Fact is, if you gave them 30 days, they have no recourse. They can tell you anything they want, but as long as you have all your documentation (list of phone calls to them, photos, etc.) you are good to go. I can not understand how this place has survived for so long. The entire complex should be bulldozed and rebuilt... by someone else. Good luck and DO NOT let them get the better of you. You owe them NOTHING!!
From: PissedAtPLB	Date: 02/26/2009
Gosh, I wander if you moved into the fleapit that I broke my lease and moved out of last in January 08! All joking aside, if you are concerned by the threatening letter from their lawyers, you might like to use the same lawyer I used. I had received a similar letter after I broke my lease and they were asking for just over $11,000! I had only given my notice verbally; I was too pissed to put anything in writing as it would have been one expletive after another and I did not keep as good a record as you have! My lawyer wrote just one letter and that was the end of it! If interested, drop me a line at david.beatsgoliathagain@yahoo.com. What is so sad is that so many of us keep falling for their lies! Again, that aside, you can be proactive and send your rating info to your family and friends and ask them to forward it to others. PLB is only interested in money, do your bit to affect their balance! The plain fact is this PLB is a slum in disguise!
From: Raymondgt	Date: 02/26/2009
I am looking at apartments in LA atm...where would you recommend?
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/23/2009
Add black widows to your list and you got yourself a complete set! I have found 3 black widows near my apt( very close to the door) and when I called them, they said you can call services tomorrow and schedule something for later. Like the black widow is gonna wait for them to show up! I have a pet and this terrifies me! I am outa here next week, THANK GOD!
From: ssss10ssss	Date: 04/04/2009
Oh my god, insects! I mean, you live in a park with lots of plants and complain about insects? That has nothing to do with management, insects don't stick to rules.
From: PLB_hater	Date: 04/12/2009
Hi, PLEASE, everyone who has any issues to file the complaint with better business bureau. I think it would be great to have them know too! all it takes is copy & paste. Right now they have a B which is very good rating, is that right, do they deserve a B, http://www.la.bbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=1310333 thanks. give Park La Brea, the well deserved karma smack!

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