Landlord sues the TikTok collective Hype House over property damage and unpaid rent: 'They promised they would take good care of it'
- Danny Fitzgerald has leased his glitzy homes to influencer collectives like the Hype House and FaZe Clan.
- He's now suing the Hype House members for breaking their lease early and damaging property.
Daniel Fitzgerald, a Hollywood landlord and the self-proclaimed "owner of [the] biggest influencer homes in LA," has filed suit against several members of The Hype House, including Thomas Petrou and Cole 'Huddy' Hudson.
In the suit, Fitzgerald alleges he inked a one-year lease with the TikTok collective in May 2020, which the group broke five months early — while also leaving behind $300,000 in property damage.
"They didn't obey any rules of the lease whatsoever," Fitzgerald told Insider. "They promised they would take good care of it."
Fitzgerald documented some of the alleged damage on his YouTube channel in a compilation video culled from footage filmed by different influencers, he said. The footage shows houseguests using flamethrowers indoors, allegedly shattering tile flooring with their skateboards, and disturbing the neighborhood as fans flocked to the property.
"When we went to mediation, we just gave them a tape of all the stuff and said, 'This is what they did' — and then they just settled on the spot basically," Fitzgerald told Insider.
In May 2021, the suit says, a $400,000 settlement was reached, wherein the Hype House agreed to pay $10,000 per month for 40 months. But that agreement was also breached, according to the suit, when the group began paying $2,500 installments in January 2022.
Now, the suit is calling for the "entire unpaid balance" to be paid immediately in full.
Hype House founder Thomas Petrou did not respond to Insider's request for comment. The suit also names other members, including Mia Hayward, Calvin Goldby, Patrick Huston, and Nicholas Austin.
Fitzgerald told Insider he owns a total of nine homes in Los Angeles, all of which he's rented out to influencers. Before the Hype House crew moved in, the mansion was previously occupied by gaming collective FaZe Clan, he said.
"They made so much money living in my home," Fitzgerald said of the Hype House, "because my home makes everyone famous."
According to a leaked contract, the Hype House has 11 strict rules that its members must follow, including that any repairs resulting from damage "shall be at your expense, with repairs done as soon as reasonably necessary."