El Centro Apartments and Bungalows

My review is regarding the touring and application process; I am not a resident. My partner and I loved the El Centro apartments. Michael gave us an excellent tour. We showed up super late for our tour but he put aside what he was doing and graciously accommodated us. We loved the apartments, and the only reason we didn't move forward in applying there was because the specific unit we were looking for wasn't available. It was our number 2 choice in our apartment hunt (for a 1bed1bath) involving Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, and Santa Monica.

A once-beautiful and well-maintained building complex has, for years now, fallen into neglect — yet still dares to call itself “luxury.” Rent keeps rising while quality has dropped to a level that’s frankly unacceptable. But pictures say more than a thousand words. Welcome to El Centro — a place that no longer cares about luxury, only profit. Make no mistake: you’re not getting what you’re paying for. Realistically, rent here should range between $1,600 and $3,500 at most, until new management genuinely steps up, fixes the ongoing issues and rebuilds/renews key amenities to justify the high prices and the title of a “luxury building.”

The apartment itself was not the worse, however hot water went out a few times, car garage would not work constantly either not open at all or just be open all the time, several pieces of gym equipment did not work and was never fixed, and gym was not 24 hours however the 'yoga room' was, and lobby and many parts of the building closed at 12, and did not open to the morning, for which would make getting to your unit or mail difficult if you worked overnight(early morning). Several of the outlets in the unit did not work, and after many maintenance request I gave up, and it is very very very dog friendly to where you can smell and hear how dog friendly the unit is. Maintenance and front desk were very nice!

This review is strictly about the leasing process. The building itself is visually impressive. The location is prime. It sits above Amoeba Music, a block from Capitol Records, and in the heart of Hollywood Blvd. It markets luxury and celebrity proximity. The leasing experience tells a different story. Before we even discussed units seriously, I was told which leasing agent was dating another leasing agent across the street at a different property. That information was volunteered casually. I did not ask for it. The amount of internal gossip shared during what should have been a professional leasing tour was surprising and uncomfortable. When staff freely discuss coworkers’ relationships and residents’ private lives, it feels like a red flag. It feels toxic and unprofessional. During th

UPDATE: I’ve officially moved out of El Centro and have received the deductions from my security deposit. In the past few months, I had water leaking down my walls from an apartment on the top floor, causing the paint to peel. Maintenance came to my apartment several times to resolve the problem. The paint was never fixed. They charged me for painting the apartment and deducted $100. For the past 4 months, my apartment had no heat whatsoever. Even though temperatures dipped below 50° and even 40°, nothing was done to resolve this issue. I received notifications that maintenance came to my apartment several times, nothing was done. On the contrary, my apartment was left as a mess, my carpet was dirty and rags were left on the floor. Upon moving out, I did not have heating or AC. The manag