Some tenants in downtown Los Angeles are demanding a change as they say, for years, they've lived in dangerous conditions.
After receiving complaints about the apartment complex on South Wright Street, city of Los Angeles Housing inspectors Wednesday visited the building, but they didn't get far.
Nela Petrusan, the building's owner and landlord, turned away the inspectors, saying the city did not give her a 30-day notice.
The neighbors invited NBC Los Angeles crews into their homes to show what they call "unlivable conditions" while their landlord said the tenants are trying to get lower rent.
The apartment complex, which sits directly under the 10 and 110 freeway exchange with 43 units, appears to be faced with a number of issues, including missing ceilings, limited light, what appears to be mold, holes in the wall and plumbing problems.
It's not clear how many of the 43 units are occupied, but tenants said dozens of people are in the same boat.
"This isn't life," said tenant Adriana Montes, saying it's been "hell" living in the building for over two years.
Petrusan, who also lives in the building, said tenants are the ones to blame for lack of repairs.
"I can't do repairs if they don't let me in," the landlord said. "They don't want repairs. What they want is discounted rent."
Both landlord and tenants accuse each other of violence and intimidation. And they deny the other's allegations.
Petrusan said most people's rent is between $500 and $800 a month, although some may be required to pay less because of the condition of their apartments
The city of LA Housing Department website shows the city has received over a hundred complaints about the condition of the property. Many marked as resolved, but others have led to legal action.
The LA City Attorney's office confirms landlord Petrusan is accused of 43 counts of tenant harassment, 19 counts of building code violations, three counts of battery, two counts of unlawful demand for rent, relating to complaints from July 2024 and June 26, 2025.
Petrusan has a pending criminal case regarding 16 alleged building code violations from a May 2024 inspection.
"We've been fighting for a couple of years now to have the building taken from her control and have conditions change in the building," David Albright, a member of the LA Tenants' Association, said as he has helped the tenants of this building organize.
"It's our position that no one should be allowed to own a building that treats their tenants that way," Albright added.
Tenants told NBC Los Angeles that they feel they must fight for this place because moving can be too expensive.
Petrusan was due in court Thursday to face some of the charges. She is also set to return on Oct. 30 for a hearing on alleged building code violations.