Orion Housing was found guilty of withholding a security deposit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Nov. 14, 2024. Andrew Lee, a former resident of Orion Housing and a UCLA alum, received $4,880 in damages after winning the case, the court’s website read. Lee only sued for $985, but the court awarded additional damages because it found Orion was acting “in bad faith.”

Orion owns over 100 properties within two miles of the University Park Campus and calls itself “the perfect choice for USC students” on its website. Lee said he first became “frustrated” in 2023 when the property changed management and started being neglected. 

“One particularly egregious example of their neglect is the infestation of pigeons that rendered the only outside access steps to the unit impassable due to a mountain of bird excrement,” Lee wrote on Google reviews. “Despite repeated pleas for action, Orion Housing allowed the mess to accumulate, subjecting tenants to months of unsanitary conditions and health hazards.”

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Lee said Orion’s Google reviews were “fairly clean” when he began renting with Orion in 2022.  But when he revisited the site in 2024 to submit his review, he saw various complaints from USC students. 

A USC alum wrote in a November 2024 Google review that Orion “refused” to give her security deposit back and that she lived in a “bug-infested room.”

After Lee’s lease ended in August 2024, he said Orion deducted $985 from his security deposit for paint and the cleanliness of the property. Lee said Orion also added a $35 “administrative fee” for sending his deposit back. 

Lee said he asked Orion to reassess his charges, and they provided him with an non-itemized list of charges that did not match the deductions from his deposits.

Lee then sued Orion for charging for normal “wear and tear” before and during his lease and for not providing an itemized statement of deductions which is illegal under California Civil Code 1950.5.

Lee said he hopes his decision to sue will send a message to Orion and other leasing companies to “maintain a quality of care” for residents and to follow the law.

“I’ll take the extra time that it takes to go to court and show up to make sure that it’s on their record and such for any future people,” Lee said.

Additionally, Lee said he hopes residents learn their rights and ability to sue.

Ali Risheh, a research assistant at UC Irvine and a former Orion resident, moved into the apartment complex in 2023 and said he had his requests ignored by Orion, including a request for security footage after his bike and multiple Amazon packages were stolen.

Risheh said Orion charged $400 for “paint” and sent photos of the damage. However, Risheh said the photos did not show any visible damage to the walls.

After calling Orion daily, Risheh said he received 70% of his security deposit two months after moving out and said he was “done with Orion” and didn’t dispute the payment. 

Moochan Lee, a USC alum and resident of Orion Housing from 2023 to 2024 said he didn’t have many options for student housing at the time so he chose the housing that was the “cheapest and looked okay.”

Moochan said that there were multiple water leaks in the apartment, including the kitchen, living room and bathroom.

“We would get the maintenance requests in on the portal, but they would always put it off, saying, ‘Oh, you weren’t here at this time,’ even though there was literally someone there at that time,” Moochan said.

Moochan said in addition to filling out maintenance requests online, his roommates sent emails to management. Moochan said the leak was never fixed, despite Orion sending multiple contractors to fix it.

When Moochan’s lease ended in 2024, he said he was charged for the water damage from the leaks as well as wall adhesive strips, broken blinds and stickers on the doorframe, which he wrote on Google reviews were left from the previous tenants.

A month prior to Moochan’s move out, he said he asked Orion for his security deposit to be sent to a different debit card than the one he paid rent with, but said it was still wired to the wrong card.

Moochan said he gave up on getting the full amount after two months of communication with Orion. He said he received 60% of his original deposit.

“I still don’t feel great about the fact that I got scammed out of my money,” Moochan said.

Orion Housing did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.