The former landlord of TikTok’s The Hype House said the group got “messed up” on renting his $10 million Hollywood home before terminating the lease after facing near jail time for an illegal fireworks show.
Danny Fitzgerald is suing six members of Hype House, including co-founders Thomas Petrou, 24, and Chase “Huddy” Hudson, 20, after the Gen Z influencers allegedly vandalized his home and left more than $300,000 worth of damage .
“When they moved in, they were so much fun,” Fitzgerald told in a phone interview on Thursday. The landlord said he “played table tennis” with the group for 10 days and even met YouTuber and Hype House volunteer member Nikita Dragun, 26.
“But then it went haywire.”
Danny Fitzgerald is suing six Hype House members after Gen Z influencers ransacked his home, leaving more than $300,000 in damage
Hype House co-founders Thomas Petrou (left) and Chase ‘Lil Huddy’ Hudson (right) have been sued by their former Weidlake Drive landlord for leaving more than $300,000 in damages at the mansion and a jail term for illegally detonating it fireworks have received a fire zone
Fitzgerald says he only received a quarter of the payment for the $10 million home (pictured) from Petrou and his girlfriend Mia Hayward. He also reconciled with two of the members but couldn’t remember who was on a ski trip. These members have agreed to pay their share. As for the other members, “I don’t think they have any money,” Fitzgerald told
Fitzgerald sued Petrou, Hudson, Mia Hayward, Calvin Goldby and Patrick Huston for breach of contract after they agreed to pay him $10,000 a month for a period of 40 months to pay for the damage after the group terminated their five-year lease months ahead of schedule.
The group has been paying him just $2,500 a month since January 2021.
He is demanding immediate payment in full of the $400,000 payment and the $10,000 legal fees he earned as a result.
“All they had to do was pay $10,000 a month,” he told . According to Fitzgerald, the group rented the property for around $40,000 a month.
So far, Fitzgerald has only received a quarter of what Petrou paid for his share and that of his girlfriend Mia Hayward. As for the other shares, he said Petrou refused to pay them, despite being the ringleader and manager of the content group.
“They are the workers and he is the boss,” Fitzgerald told . “Thomas has all the money.”
has reached out to Petrou for comment.
Fitzgerald said he settled down with two of the members but couldn’t remember who was on a ski trip. These members have agreed to pay their share. As for the other members, “I don’t think they have any money,” Fitzgerald told .
He said if he had taken it all the way through the court system, the group would most likely have owed him “millions”.
The group left the house for a new apartment in Santa Rosa after Fitzgerald and the city council pressured them to leave, the landlord told .
“They destroyed the place,” Fitzgerald said. “They are trashing my house and making the neighbors angry.
“They said they would take care of it.”
The group posted video of themselves setting off fireworks next to the pool despite living in a fire zone and on a fire-prone street as the home is surrounded by wooded areas
“They could have set the whole state of California on fire,” Fitzgerald told . “And to top it off, they put it on their Instagram”
The group knew setting off firecrackers was breaking their lease when member Kouvr Annon, 22, (pictured) could be heard saying: “You guys have to be quick and careful because our lease specifically says we don’t may small fireworks’
On the 16,000-square-foot lot — which Fitzgerald called “the place for kids to get rich and famous” — members of the Hype House destroyed the hot tub’s motor, heater, and control panel; damaged the pool by throwing in a ladder, scratched the floor, shattered expensive tiles, damaged walls, caused water leaks in the ceiling, and set off fireworks in a fire zone — despite knowing it was breaking their lease.
In a video posted to Fitzgerald’s YouTube page, member Kouvr Annon, 22, can be heard saying: “You have to be quick and careful because our lease specifically says we’re not allowed to set off fireworks.”
The house is in a fire zone and on a fire prone road as it is surrounded by wooded areas.
“They could have set the whole state of California on fire,” Fitzgerald told . “And to top it off, they put it on their Instagram.”
Fitzgerald said the group needed to hire a high-profile lawyer to get out of it and that “they’re lucky they didn’t get a jail sentence.”
He also said the group was “monitored” full-time by his assistant and didn’t listen when they were told they couldn’t do things.
‘[You say:] ‘You can’t do that,’ then they do that,’ he said. “It’s endless what they’ve done.”
Fitzgerald said there was more damage than what they wanted to pay back, but couldn’t talk financially about how much damage was really caused since a year later they are still repairing the house.
Though the 10-bedroom, 16-bathroom home is currently occupied by YouTuber RiceGum, whose legal name is Bryan Quang Le — who also caused damage to the home and was fined $25,000 by Fitzgerald for partying — the landlord and his team continues to do work on the property.
On the 16,000-square-foot lot — which Fitzgerald called “the place for kids to get rich and famous” — members of the Hype House destroyed the hot tub’s motor, heater, and control panel; and damaged the pool by throwing a ladder in (pictured)
They also scratched the floors and damaged the walls (pictured)
As well as left water damage in ceiling (shown in upper right corner of vent)
They also cracked expensive tiles (pictured). “It’s endless what they’ve done,” Fitzgerald told on Thursday
And wrecked the interior of the house with their endless antics
Although the property is still in need of repairs, the ‘deal’ is that the current residents will continue to have to pay rent.
As for the five months of rent remaining after Hype House moved out early, they didn’t pay it. The rationale is that Fitzgerald found new tenants, whom he dubbed “Crypto Castle,” to take over the lease.
He also fined them $60 million for throwing a party, but said they agreed on a lower price and the men paid it.
Fitzgerald is also dealing with damage to an adjacent property after a company rapper Lil Nas worked with threw a party and a thousand people showed up, including the singer.
“I had to shut it down,” Fitzgerald told .
Despite his increasing bad experiences with renting out to young people, he will not stop. His current nine houses in Los Angeles are all rented to influencers.
“I don’t want to rent people to you guys, but I don’t want to be discriminatory,” he told . “I’m not against influencers, but just do your influencing [without destroying property].’