In complaints filed with the California Civil Rights Department, Melissa Scalia and other Hilltop apartments tenants have alleged that property managers mistreated them. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

The University of California purchased the Hilltop apartments at 363 Western Drive in Santa Cruz in 2021 to turn a profit, UC Investments staff said. They raised rents, displaced many tenants and marketed the apartments to UC Santa Cruz students — despite rodents and numerous maintenance problems, Santa Cruz Local reported in the fall. 

In recent months, problems there have prompted:

• City code violation notices to fix leaking pipes, cure a rat infestation and bring repairs to code. If the problems aren’t fixed, the city could cite, fine, withhold permits or sue.
• Seven tenants filed complaints to the California Civil Rights Department that employees of property manager Greystar Worldwide LLC mistreated Section 8 tenants and tenants with children. If the complaints are substantiated, the department could file a lawsuit on behalf of the tenants.

Housing discrimination complaints

Melissa Scalia, 44, lives at the Hilltop with her teenage son. In July, Scalia filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Department, which enforces civil rights law in the state. 

Scalia said Santa Cruz Local’s Sept. 26 story on problems at Hilltop encouraged her to advocate for other tenants and she then helped six more residents file complaints with the department. 

The complaints allege that Greystar employee Carmen Maldonado has yelled at Housing Choice Voucher holders —  also known as Section 8 tenants — disregarded their concerns, ignored maintenance requests and denied disability accommodations such as communicating in writing. One complaint alleged that Maldonado hid a child’s bike that was left out and told him it got stolen. Another complaint alleged that she yelled at children playing outside because they were making noise.

Several Hilltop residents told Santa Cruz Local that property management staff tend to treat UCSC students better. Non-student tenants are excluded from promotional offers and community events, some said.

Maldonado said in February that she was not allowed to speak with the media and directed questions to Greystar representatives. Another Greystar employee told a Santa Cruz Local reporter to leave the property.

“Hilltop does its best to respond in a timely manner to maintenance requests, and we are working closely with the city to ensure the community remains in compliance with code,” a Greystar representative wrote in an email this week. “In response to the other issues raised, we take these matters seriously but cannot comment on pending legal matters.”

University of California representatives refused to respond to tenants’ allegations despite numerous requests and a visit to its Oakland office.

Hilltop advertisements of high-end living are a facade, said Hilltop resident Janice Bartholomew. “It’s not high-end living when you get behind the doors,” she said. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

The Hilltop apartments on Western Drive are not far from UC Santa Cruz. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

A former Hilltop employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Maldonado did not want Section 8 tenants to rent at Hilltop and instructed staff to try to discredit those residents’ concerns about maintenance and other issues. The employee did not want their name used for fear of retaliation. 

“Basically, her terminology was, ‘Well, I’ll just wait for them to commit a lease violation and then, you know, terminate them,’” the former employee said. “I feel that the people that live there that have disabilities are really, really being taken advantage of in a bad way.” 

Five of the civil rights complaints are under investigation, one is still under review and one was denied as of early April. Scalia said she also wants to pursue a lawsuit outside the department because it could encompass more issues, like mold and improper rent increases. A lawsuit from the Civil Rights Department would only include alleged discrimination.

These people are putting us through hell and they’re not being held accountable.

—Janice Bartholomew, Hilltop resident 

Over the past several months, Scalia and other residents also filed complaints with the city planning department over repair issues, rats and mold. In March, city code compliance supervisors inspected part of the complex and found leaking water pipes, rodents, drainage problems and unpermitted construction and electrical work, according to city records.

The city gave an April 26 deadline to fix most of the issues, and told the university to make a plan to fix the drainage problems, according to a notice sent to the university. “The property manager has been responsive and is currently on track to meet requirements within the specified timelines,” city spokeswoman Erika Smart wrote in an email this week.

‘Somebody’s got to help’

While residents wait on resolutions to their complaints to city and state authorities, some have felt unsure where to turn. 

“Somebody’s got to help,” said 72-year-old Janice Bartholomew, who has lived at Hilltop since 2021. “We’ve got to find one good person that will do what needs to be done, and I’m hoping that it’s the code enforcement lady.”

A Santa Cruz city code compliance supervisor speaks with Hilltop residents Janice Bartholomew, center, and Melissa Scalia during a March 3 property inspection. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

Bartholomew said she’s dealt with plumbing problems, a noisy student neighbor and possible mold for years. When she discovered rats in her apartment in February, it felt like the last straw. 

“These people are putting us through hell and they’re not being held accountable,” she said.

Bartholomew is one of the tenants who filed a complaint with the state. She has also reached out for help to the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz, which administers the federal Section 8 program. Bartholomew and other residents said they feel the housing authority has not provided the help they need.

‘Minimum habitability standards’

The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Cruz is responsible for ensuring rentals meet federally set “minimum habitability standards,” said Jenny Panetta, its director. But beyond canceling rent payments, the housing authority can’t compel landlords to fix problems, she said. Cancelling rent payments can require the tenant to move and jeopardize their housing security, she said.

The housing authority often refers participants to legal assistance organizations including California Rural Legal Assistance, Tenant Sanctuary and others, Panetta said. 

Carol Halpin’s apartment at Hilltop failed habitability standards in a January housing authority inspection. The housing authority gave Hilltop until May to fix the problems, but the failed inspection has given 51-year-old Halpin an opportunity to leave Hilltop and take the rent assistance with her. She said she hopes to find another home in Santa Cruz. 

Halpin, who is disabled, has dealt with a myriad of issues since she moved to Hilltop in 2020. She said she’s been exposed to mold and moisture from plumbing leaks and she believes it’s affected her health. She was displaced when an overflowing toilet in the upstairs apartment flooded her home in 2021. 

She spent six weeks of “hell” living in small hotel rooms with her disabled mother and teenage son. It affected her son’s grades, as he was attending school remotely at the time. Her live-in caregiver quit because he “just couldn’t take it,” she said.

Halpin alleged that her new apartment at Hilltop had extensive mold that affected her health. Last year she relocated to another Hilltop unit, but the following month a water leak burst through the bathroom ceiling. She said the apartment was “tolerable” once they fixed the bathroom ceiling. An inspection notice from the housing authority noted “unfinished sheet rock” in the bathroom ceiling.

A plumbing van “basically lives in the parking lot” because of frequent plumbing problems at the Hilltop Apartments, said resident Melissa Scalia. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

Improper rent increases, incomplete ledgers

Last year, Greystar attempted to evict Halpin. Greystar alleged that Halpin owed thousands of dollars, but failed to provide accurate and complete ledgers to prove it, according to documents.  

Emails reviewed by Santa Cruz Local showed Greystar had overcharged Halpin hundreds of dollars per month and failed to provide a correct ledger to the housing authority. 

“One thing we absolutely can push back on is the need to get factual information on the amounts owed,” said Panetta, the housing authority director. As of April 9, Greystar has provided another ledger of Halpin’s payments. The housing authority is still waiting for “additional details” from Greystar, Panetta wrote in an email. 

Greystar also tried to raise the rents of several tenants without proper notice, Panetta said, and the housing authority rejected the rent hikes.

Santa Cruz Local spoke with several Hilltop tenants who alleged unexplained charges on their accounts. Residents also said their ledgers of payments and maintenance requests in their resident portals had been inexplicably cleared after they asked Hilltop staff about discrepancies. Property managers declined to comment.

‘I feel trapped’

Bartholomew said she has considered moving but loves the location. She also said she wants to stay and fight for what she believes is her right to decent housing. 

“The stress is so bad,” Bartholomew said, tearing up. “If me staying here has caused me to help people see what’s really going on, then it was worth it.”

Janice Bartholomew in her home in March. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)

Scalia said she wants “desperately” to move out of Hilltop. Her home has a crack in the ceiling that she said emanates a musty smell. The city inspected her apartment and ordered repairs. 

Repairs to Scalia’s apartment have come only after the city ordered fixes, including last year to her rotted balcony that she and a city notice said was unsafe.

Following months of requesting a lease termination, Greystar sent her one after she included a Santa Cruz Local reporter on an email thread — but it also included an arbitration agreement that would prevent her from pursuing a lawsuit. 

“I’m not signing my rights away,” Scalia said. She had another apartment lined up, but let it go rather than give up the ability to sue. “I feel trapped,” she said.

In an update to Section 8 tenants’ leases last month, an arbitration agreement was included without the knowledge of the housing authority or the tenants. Panetta said the housing authority had directed Greystar to keep the lease terms the same. 

“The Housing Authority did not agree with the additional provisions that Hilltop incorporated into the lease agreements, and instead we worked with the tenants and Hilltop to execute a lease addendum to address the issue,” Panetta wrote in an email Wednesday.

For now, Scalia said she is seeking an attorney who could take on a class action lawsuit, as she and others wait for the Civil Rights Department to complete the investigations.

Are you a current or former resident of Hilltop? Reporter Nik Altenberg wants to speak with you. Email her at [email protected].

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