‘We are not animals’: Why this Altadena apartment remains unlivable 15 months after the Eaton Fire

The story first appeared on The LA Local.

More than 15 months after the Eaton Fire, residents of an Altadena apartment complex say they are still fighting a “notorious” landlord to repair a fire-damaged building that remains unlivable and contaminated with toxic ash and soot.

Longtime tenants of 403 Figueroa Dr., who describe the complex as a close-knit village, say their property manager, Regency Management Inc., has ignored years of repair requests and pleas to clean up the property after the fire razed most of the block.

Although Regency Management replaced the windows, residents said they were forced to camp out in their apartments without electricity or hot water for months in the fire’s aftermath because most could not afford to move as the fire strained the area’s housing market.

“Homes in this community are being rebuilt up to code, but our building remains frozen in time since Jan. 7,” said Brenda Lopez-Ardon, a community organizer and tenant, at a press conference last month.

Brenda Lopez-Ardon (second from right) speaks at a community rally and press conference with members of tenants’ union Comité 403 in front of their building. March 26, 2026.

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Rachel Parsons

The LA Local

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She spoke in front of the building where she has lived her whole life and is raising her young daughter.

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Later that evening, as kids raced on scooters through the courtyard of the rundown two-story building, Lopez-Ardon and several tenants ushered state Sen. Sasha Pérez through the property, pointing out damages from the fire and water, along with buckling floors and discolored tap water.

In one apartment, mold bloomed through paint on a wall in a children’s bedroom, and also grew on a mattress and plush toys. Residents complained of rat and cockroach infestations.

A woman takes a photo on a cell phone of the ceiling above a refrigerator in an apartment as another woman points to it. Senator Sasha Pérez stands in the kitchen and looks out of frame.

“We are not animals, to be living this way,” said Yoselin Ayala, one of the tenants sharing her experience with Pérez.

“I’m very upset and frustrated to see what’s happened here,” said Pérez, who represents California’s 25^th Senate District.

“Things like broken bricks and falling walls and, you know, other fire damage, melted parts of the building, those are things that should have been taken care of a long time ago,” she told The LA Local.

Regency Management and its owner Swaranjit “Mike” Nijjar, have not responded to requests for comment.

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A group of people stand on a lawn in front of an apartment building as they hold signs and a woman speaks into a microphone on a stand.

Going on offense

The Eaton Fire blew out nearly all of the building’s windows, destroyed large sections of the property’s perimeter wall, burned down carport shade structures in the parking lot and left the building without power or hot water for months.

The fire also left the units coated in toxic ash and soot containing dangerously elevated levels of lead, according to a report by the LA County Department of Public Health.

Lopez-Ardon said many of the apartments were cleaned by local volunteers, and when Regency Management finally sent cleaners, they were maintenance workers, not a professional remediation company with special equipment and training on dealing with disasters.

A close up of people holding signs, including a child holding up a sign in Spanish that reads "We want to live without fear."

In response, the residents formed a tenants’ union to demand their rights as renters and move “from the defense to the offense,” Lopez-Ardon said.

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Their efforts have met with limited success, and the group is now exploring options including forming a co-op to buy the property from Nijjar, a man California’s attorney general has called “notorious” for exploiting tenants.

California sues landlord

Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Nijjar, his companies and several of his relatives last summer. The suit alleges “inhumane living conditions” across properties owned by the real estate developer, his sister and children. It also alleges the company had several breaches of lease agreements and violations of the state’s Tenant Protection Act.

“The Nijjar Companies rent out unsafe and uninhabitable units, disregard tenants’ requests for repairs, and fail to eradicate pests, inflicting harm and anguish on tenants,” according to the complaint filed in June in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The family’s empire encompasses 22,000 rental units throughout California, owned through a byzantine collection of more than 150 limited partnerships and corporations and administered by 11 management companies, including Regency Management.

The lawsuit is ongoing.

A group of people holding up signs as they stand on a lawn in front of a tree and apartment building. The signs read "We want to live without fear" and one of L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger with text that reads "LA County where are you?"

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For the tenants on Figueroa Drive, the fire damage was simply the last straw on top of longstanding neglect and repair requests they say Regency has ignored for years.

Lopez-Ardon, 26, said the pedestrian entrance gate has been broken off and wide open for at least 10 years. Lax security has also made some residents fearful of another major threat in the area: ICE.

Blanca, who only gave her first name because of privacy concerns, has lived in the building for more than 20 years. She said that immigration enforcement agents have entered the building twice in the last year looking for a specific person. They left empty-handed both times.

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‘We are not animals’: Why this Altadena apartment remains unlivable 15 months after the Eaton Fire

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Going on offense

California sues landlord

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