Complaint Review: Elijah Pena

 Elijah Pena was supposed to be my landlord until 9/30/2013. But on 9/28/2013, while I was not home, he came into my house, stole ALL of my belongings and changed the locks. Rent was paid. As a matter of fact, I OVERpaid him. My husband, 2 month old, and myself came home to find ourselves homeless. He told my neighbors that he was dumping our things and that they were not to give us his number. I happened to leave my phone at home that day, so I didn't have his number, which he knew, because also has my phone. But I looked him up online...I called him and he said that my things are in a "secure" location, and refused to tell me exactly where they are. He also stated that there were damages and we could have our stuff back once we paid, which is illegal. I also found out today (10/10/2013) that he has been stealing my mail.

A word on his so-called damages. Mr. Pena never did a walkthrough with us, and made it clear early on in my tenancy that he didn't know what did and didn't work in the apartment. For example, he clearly stated that the washer worked. My first load of clothing was ruined because it didn't drain. Either weay, he didn't do a walkthrough so how can he say that there are unpaid damages? Especially when he hadn't stepped foot inside the apartment since he had showed it to us.

Mr. Pena is also a liar. When he showed us the apartment, my husband explained that he is a mechanic and would like to work on vehicles in our designated parking spots. Mr. Pena was more than happy to comply. After we moved in, my husband was working on a vehicle and Mr. Pena happened to stop by. He then told my husband that he could not work on vehicles and gave no explanation as to why. About the parking spots, he told us that we had 2 parkins spaces. One in the front of the building and one in the back. Our neighbor, who had begun parking in our spot without permission, complained when my husband parked a vehicle in OUR spot, and Mr. Pena tried to recant his earlier statement. It even said in the lease that we were allowed these 2 spaces.

Mr. Pena seemed like a very nice man when I first met him. He claimed to be a Christian and a family man. He was very accomodating. I was 7 months pregnant and he was sympathetic. He turned into a different person once we moved in. He harrassed us for rent every month, gave us notices of termination even though we weren't late. Rent was due on the 1st, and he would threaten to charge a $100 late fee on the 2nd! We had nothing but problems with this man. He has stolen everything that I own, and obviously feels no remorse. DO NOT rent from Elijah Pena.

Oh, just in case anyone has read my other postings: 427 Bragaw is a 2 story duplex and I was in the basement. It is a safety hazard because there are no smoke alarms and barely any ventilation. Nothing drains correctly and the sink and bathtub have a tendency to back up. Also, the neighbors upstairs have 4 very unruly children who are extremely noisy.

This was the worst place I've lived so far, with the worst landlord.