At first glance, Coronado Palms looks like a wonderful place to live in.

Located near Disneyland on the corner of Ball Road and Euclid Street, the complex has great amenities including a sparkling pool and a colorfu

l playground for their youngest tenants.

Yet some residents tell a different story about recurring issues with cockroaches, mold and lack of maintenance. All these issues not only affect tenant’s safety, but also their health.

Claudia Valadez, a five-year tenant, was writing her 30-day notice upon being interviewed.

“The apartment looked normal at first, but after a month I started to see cockroaches and I told them and they sprayed but the cockroaches didn’t go away,” Valadez explained.

Valadez was fed up with the lack of maintenance and cockroach infestation in her apartment, especially compared to apartments for new tenants which are fully renovated inside.

According to a tenant, who wanted to remain anonymous, the management did not take into consideration that the apartments are in really bad condition. Management has let the tenant know on several occasions of the lack of funds for repairs.

“We’ve had a leak for the past three years, they’ve known about the leak” they continued.

The occupants children also had skin rashes recently, due to possible mold inside the wall. The leak in this apartment has still not been fixed.

Sergio Ochoa, Regional Manager of the property, addressed some concerns brought up by the tenants.

Ochoa stated maintenance requests are easily resolved by submitting the work order first and then management will attempt to address the issue within 24-hours depending on importance.

“There were some leaks during some strong storms and the roofers had to wait at least seven days without any rain before starting the work,” Ochoa said, “It was not necessarily because of funds, but because of the weather.”

In terms of the cockroach problem, he stated they have a company come every week to spray, but by law all they can do is provide a pest control company, even if the cockroaches persist.

“The electricity breaker was super old and so it shut off constantly and we had a hard time getting ahold of maintenance,” explained Nolan Sturdevant, a Disneyland employee who has lived in the apartments for a year.

Maintenance took care of the electricity issue after a week because of Sturdevant’s persistence on the issue.

After six months of moving in, Sturdevant noticed the roaches and notified management. He said the pest company sprayed but after a week they were back and are still a problem.

Other tenants did not have as many issues with repairs and management, but did bring up the common problem of the cockroaches.

The office manager did not wish to comment at this time.

Properties have a legal obligation under civil code 1941.1 to provide the warranty of habitability, said David Levy, Program Specialist for the Fair Housing Council of OC.

He states concerns of leaks and vermin are also a violation of the health and safety code section 17920.3.

For management to be liable for any legal obligation, the tenant has to first notify the property and have proof of that notice in order to take any further legal action against the property.

The property then has the opportunity to address the concern which is typically 30 days, but it can be less or more time depending on the specific concern.

Levy also suggested three ways residents can address their concerns if the property is not doing their part:

1. Repair and deduct: Tenants can do the repair on their own and deduct the costs from the next month’s rent. There is a limit of two times per year for one month’s rent each time.

2. Code Enforcement: Tenants can contact their city’s code enforcement and have them come out and cite the owner for the code violation. If the citation is not fixed within a time frame, there are possible fines the owner will have to pay.

3. Sue in court: Tenants can ask for a rebate of rent for the length of time the landlord did not provide a habitable place. They can also get a court order for reduced rent until the landlord fixes the habitable conditions.

If anyone has any housing concerns, they can contact the Fair Housing Council of OC at 714-569-0823 or follow this link.