Tenants Allege Landlord Harassment, ICE Threats

A Los Angeles landlord is under fire for much more than typical maintenance neglect.

Nela Petrusan, landlord of the 43-unit 1430 Wright Street building in downtown Los Angeles, is accused of physically assaulting tenants in addition to ignoring problems like broken plumbing and a roach infestation, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Of the more than 23,000 complaints against all landlords in the city, Petrusan is the only one to ever be charged under Los Angeles’ Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, passed in 2021 and reinforced in 2024 to protect tenants from abusive landlords. Since 2022, when Petrusan took over as landlord duties from her late father, four tenants have filed civil suits against the landlord and nine have filed for restraining orders, claiming they experienced a pattern of threatening behavior through physical and verbal assaults.

Petrusan denied any wrongdoing. “We don’t harass [tenants],” she told the Times. “We say ‘hi.’”

One tenant, Olga Moreira, claims Petrusan sprayed another tenant with bear mace in 2022 and that the toxic spray got into her eyes, requiring medical attention. Moreira claimed Petrusan’s boyfriend, Jeremy Noor, threatened her with a rifle, according to an application for a restraining order. Moreira also claimed that Noor set fire to her Jeep Cherokee, which Petrusan denied.

“If we lit her car on fire, then I would have to do that to the other 20 people in here that don’t pay me. Like with my kids. I can’t give one something if I don’t give the other something,” Petrusan said.

Another plaintiff, Adriana Montes de Oca Cervantes, alleges her wrist was fractured when she was attacked by Petrusan’s pit bull in April 2024. That case is still pending. Petrusan denied her dog ever bit Cervantes; the tenant provided medical records to the Times showing she visited California Hospital Medical Center in April 2024 and was diagnosed with an open fracture of her right wrist from a dog bite.

Other tenants claim in court documents that Petrusan threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on them, which Petrusan also denies. “I didn’t threaten to call immigration. If I called immigration, all my tenants would leave,” Petrusan, an immigrant from Romania, told the Times.

Additional cases against Petrusan allege the landlord failed to maintain sanitary conditions or safe doors and didn’t fix broken plumbing, among other issues. The cases are still open, and Petrusan has reportedly stopped showing up to court appearances, David Albright, a Los Angeles Tenants Union organizer who works with residents at the building, told the Times. A warrant for Petrusan’s arrest was issued on Nov. 12 after she did not appear for a court date, per records reviewed by the Times.

— Chris Malone Méndez