Ted Costas felt weird putting a lock and chain on a neighbor’s gate, but he didn’t have a lot of other options.
For weeks, people had been gathering at the abandoned property on Mulholland Drive overlooking a canyon right below the Universal City Overlook. It was July 4, and Costas was afraid that the people who were regularly gathering at the house might start a fire.
Two days later, the lock was gone, Costas said.
The property enjoys some stunning views of the San Fernando Valley and the mountains beyond. But for everyone else in the Studio City neighborhood with a view of the house, it is an eyesore and a hazard.
“It drives me nuts,” said Kris Henigman, who lives downhill from the abandoned property and sees it every day when walking in the neighborhood.
The house is hard to miss.
Standing on stilts near the top of the canyon, it is surrounded by brush and dirt on either side and is more than 200 feet from the nearest house north of Mulholland. From below, it looks like an isolated bunker built on the side of a canyon.
Trash and debris can be seen trailing down the slope below the house. From above, standing at the viewpoint, graffiti is visible on the roof. A gate that, as of Wednesday, had two locks on it opens onto a path that leads to the house.
Around 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, three people appeared to hop the fence on the south side of the property, slide down the dirt and step into the house. With a flashlight, they milled around inside, then two of them used their arms to make a heart shape together in front of the view of the valley. One of them then pumped his arms in the air. All three left within 10 minutes of arriving.
A contractor for the city who asked to remain anonymous because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media said his crew had been clearing brush around the house for several days to help mitigate the fire hazard. He said that every day he has come back to work, he has seen signs that people have spent the night there, like fresh bottles and trash.
Neither Mayor Karen Bass nor Councilmember Nithya Raman — whose district includes the run-down home — immediately responded to requests for comment. Representatives of the property’s owner, Walking Media Inc., could not be reached.
The property was most recently assessed at about $1.3 million. The owner is delinquent on paying property taxes, county records show. A Zillow post on the property says it has three bedrooms. The photos show a spacious living room with glass walls facing the valley. The house last sold in 2022 for $1.2 million, records show.
Abandoned homes in the Hollywood Hills and surrounding areas have been a concern for years. A mansion on Mulholland Drive, owned by a billionaire’s son, sat vacant for years and was covered in graffiti.
Two days after he put a lock on the gate, Costas was out for his daily run when he saw that it was gone. Within a few weeks, he called the Los Angeles Fire Department and filed a complaint, and soon after there was a lock on the gate again, he said.
Another neighbor who sees the house while walking his dog said he has called police several times to deal with issues at the house, which he said got dramatically worse about a month ago, when the windows were all broken.
“It looks like (expletive),” Gary Tutunik said. “They go in there, they vandalize it, and they leave.”
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