Tenants in San Ysidro Face Ouster : Apartment Manager in Rent Subsidy Tangle Disappears
Ana Maria Pineda thought she was getting a pretty good deal when the manager of a brand-new apartment complex offered to rent her a two-bedroom unit for $166 a month, instead of the standard price of $480.
According to Pineda and the tenants of about 50 units at Park Haven Apartments, the manager, Maria Castillo, told them they could rent the attractive units with the aid of federal government subsidies through the Section 8 program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Some of the tenants are on welfare and the others are on limited incomes, so they jumped at Castillo’s offer.
On Thursday, the confused tenants, most of them Latinos who do not speak English, faced the possibility of being evicted from the new apartments when the owners informed them that their rents are not being subsidized. Meanwhile, Castillo disappeared on March 10 and the owners are auditing their books to see if any money is missing.
Elden Vanover, one of two principal owners of the complex, said he believes that Castillo has fled to Mexico. He said that until the audit is complete, he will not know how much rental income was lost through the agreements arranged by Castillo. He said bookkeepers are still not certain if Castillo took any receipts with her.
“She (Castillo) had told us that these people were Section 8 tenants approved by the city Housing Commission. . . . We thought that’s why these people were here. We thought that she was really helping these people, but it turned out she was doing them a disservice,” said Vanover.
Vanover and Jack Walsh, a former San Diego city councilman and county supervisor, are the principal owners of the 400-unit complex located on Camino de la Plaza. The development, which is less than a mile from the border, is about a year old.
Vanover said that he suspected something was wrong earlier this month. “Our books showed X number of units rented, but the income from those units did not correspond with what we should’ve been getting. Obviously, something was wrong, and it wasn’t until last week that we figured out what wasn’t right,” he said.
The anxious tenants who were effected by Castillo’s generosity or deceit, depending on whom you talk to, met yesterday to discuss ways that they could remain in their homes. Vanover said that he sympathized with their plight, but added that there are few options available to them unless they decide to pay the full rent.
But while Vanover argued that Castillo misled and deceived the tenants, some of the victims think that Castillo was actually trying to help them.
“I personally think she was helping those of us who couldn’t afford to live in nice apartments like these,” said Pineda. “Before we moved in she looked at my check stubs and called my employer and social worker. All this took about two months, then she notified me and said I could move in and would have to pay only $166.”
Pineda’s rental agreement, which was signed by Castillo in October, calls for a monthly rent payment of $480 but the figure $166 is inserted in parenthesis. Pineda said that Castillo told her that she was only obligated to pay $166 and the Housing Commission would pay the balance with Section 8 money.
Housing Commission spokesman Dan Conway said that there might be some tenants living at Park Haven who are receiving Section 8 funds, but they qualified for the program long ago, before the commission stopped accepting applicants.
“Currently the (Housing) Commission’s waiting list has 5,000 people and we’re not accepting any more applicants. The minimum waiting period for these people before they enter the program is two years,” said Conway.
HUD spokesman Frank Baranov said that there are two apartment complexes in San Ysidro that are administered by HUD with Section 8 funds, but Park Haven is not one of them.
Vanover said that he is at a loss to explain Castillo’s motive.
“I can’t tell you why she did it. I wish I could talk to her to find out what motivated her,” he said.
According to Vanover, Castillo was hired on the basis of her claim that she had managed apartments in Dallas before moving to San Diego. But he admits that “we conducted less than a thorough background check on her.” Beginning today, Vanover said that a local social service group will begin helping the tenants.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. But we’ve told them that we’re willing to accept whatever payment they’ve been told to pay for April. Hopefully, a solution can be found before May,” said Vanover.
However, some tenants said that they have already been threatened with eviction, and others have been told to pay the back rent due in one lump sum.
“I’ve been asked to pay more than $1,000 in back rent or I’ll be evicted,” said one man who did not want to be identified. Another tenant said that he was told that he could stay only if he agreed to pay the full rent of $480 a month, plus an additional $100 monthly until the amount owed was paid off.
Vanover denied that these demands were made.
At Thursday’s tenant meeting, several complaints were also raised about the conduct of the security guards hired to patrol the complex. Some Latino tenants complained that the guards, which Vanover said come from Columbia Security Patrol, routinely and illegally ask them for immigration papers.
Roberto Ramos charged that when he made his rent payment last month, an office employee asked to see his immigration papers.
Vanover denied all of the allegations and said that the security guards are instructed to only enforce the “house rules.”
