by Tracey Goodrich on November 22, 2011
A group of low-income tenants in Iowa have taken collective action to sue the management of the properties they live in for damages caused by neglecting a long-term bed bug infestation. The court has awarded the class action status the tenants sought, which is a positive step forward in helping all tenants in their building get relief from the blood-sucking parasites–if they win this case.
Bed bugs have been a growing problem across the country over the last decade, and this case could impact how judges in other states decide whose responsibility it is to address these kinds of problems. Regardless of who takes the lead, rest assured, it will come down to a cooperative team of strange bedfellows–landlord and tenants to ultimately rid a building of bed bugs together.
by Tracey Goodrich on November 21, 2011
Viewpointe at Shingle Creek Apartments in Brooklyn Center was recently purchased by a local non-profit developer at HUD’s last foreclosure sale. Read more details in this MN Public Radio story.
Tenant protections (including the right to organize and protection from unlimited rent increases) were first threatened in early 2010, when HUD removed them in order to attract buyers for the building that had gone into foreclosure. The high bidder at the first foreclosure sale the spring of 2011 was Emmanuel Ku, a New York landlord, infamous for repeated housing violations and disrepair in many of his buildings. With the prospect of this purchase, tenants feared a future of increased rents, probable neglect, and fewer rights to fight either problem.
HOME Line organizers worked with tenants and organizational partners to fight HUD’s decisions to retract tenant protections and allow a landlord with a bad track record to purchase the building. Their efforts were met with success when a well-reputed, local, non-profit developer purchased the building with the intention to keep rents low and extend protections through 2019, the original contract period.
