Landlord Sues Influencer Collective Hype House For Causing $300,000 in Damages to His Property

Influencers are known to be random individuals who post their content independently and later monetize their social media following through brand endorsements and paid gigs. But there are also collectives as well as media firms that are now managing these content creators and guiding them to make the most of their talent and popularity. But in a recent incident, a group of social media influencers who lived in a Hollywood Hills home known as "The Hype House," caused significant damage to the place and now the owner is taking steps against them. The landlord of the Hollywood house is now suing the group of TikTok influencers for breach of contract and for allegedly causing more than $300,000 in damages to his home, via People. As per the Lawsuit, TikTok stars Thomas Petrou, Cole Hudson, Mia Hayward, Calvin Goldby, Patrick Huston, and Nicholas Austin are the group of influencers sued by the landlord Daniel Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald told KTLA that this group had caused damage to the home's tilework and jacuzzi and was also responsible for leaving water and roof damage. Additionally, the landlord claimed that there were signs of pyrotechnics inside the home.

In the lawsuit, the landlord claimed that the influencers had entered into a one-year agreement with him to lease his home in May 2020 but the group breached the lease agreement by vacating the home five months early and causing more than $300,000 in property damage. The complaint also talked about how the landlord and the influencers agreed to resolve the matter with a payment of $400,000 to Fitzgerald through monthly installments of $10,000 for the following 40 months, back in 2021.

As per the lawsuit, Fitzgerald is suing them to receive the remaining balance as soon as possible. However, Fitzgerald claimed that the influencers paid only $2,500 a month since January 2022. "They think, 'Oh, you don't have to pay, and you can make up your own rules,' but they have to understand what they signed. They signed a court document, and you have to live up to it," Fitzgerald told KTLA.

He then said that the group's co-founder should be primarily responsible for the damages, adding that he believed they are "nice people." "We just want Thomas to pay the bill. Thomas is the boss, you know, and he has the money, or if you get the other people to pay it, that'll be great too," Fitzgerald added.

The Hype House was originally formed in 2019 when many influencers came together and decided to navigate fame together. The Hype House has since moved three houses and the group has also seen a lot of switch-ups with notable members like Addison Rae and the D'Amelio sisters leaving the group. Now Hype House is led by Thomas Petrou who is one of the founders. 

"Hype House" is also an American reality television series which released on Netflix on January 7, 2022. The show follows the lives of each member of the collective of TikTok video content creators. As per reports, the show did not receive positive reviews.