Image from 2008 City Pages cover story

Earlier this month the City of Minneapolis won it’s Minnesota Court of Appeals case against landlord Spiros Zorbalas, resulting in rental license revocations for three of his properties. With these three licences set to be revoked, a city ordinance may be enforced that will bar Zorbalas from operating any other rental property in Minneapolis—affecting over 700 units in 35 additional properties. Obviously, this could have drastic effects on thousands of Minneapolis renters if those revocations are enforced and tenants are ordered to move out.

This recent decision follows another case involving approximately 17 properties owned by landlord Ronald Folger, who is facing similar license revocations for all of his rental properties. Tenants in these properties were notified that they may need to vacate their apartment at some point in the near future.

How can tenants deal with landlords who refuse to respond to repair orders? What role can residents of these properties play in inspections and license decision-making processes? What rights to tenants have when a rental license is revoked? How can tenants and city inspections departments better hold reckless and irresponsible landlord accountable before facing the possible displacement of residents?

The answers to some of these questions may be easier than others—tenants do have the right to go to court if their landlord ignores their repair requests, and residents can play a role by engaging their local city officials. In some cases, landlords who do not have a rental license may have difficulty legally collecting rent and tenants might be able to break their lease (you should consult an attorney for your own situation). What do you think should be done in situations where tenants may facing poor living conditions, but also are in need of affordable housing? How can this rental housing be maintained so residents are not displaced and do not have to deal with disrepair?

Are you a resident of one of the affected properties? Comment below about what you’ve experienced and/or what you want to see happen, submit your story online, or email us privately if you need advice or if you have questions.

HOME Line Organizer, Eric Hauge, submitted a terrific opinion article to MinnPost (or click for PDF version) on needed prevention of disastrous living conditions that result from landlord negligence.  City governments are taking serious action against landlords who fail to address major repairs and infestations, allowing their buildings and tenants’ living conditions to fall into squalor.  By the time local governments take action, however, the question at hand is whether tenants are better off living in unsafe or unhealthy conditions, or are they better off displaced (leaving those most vulnerable in danger of homelessness).  The answer Hauge asserts is that it should not come down to dire straits, but rather, there are other more preventative tools already available to local governments, and that legislation allowing tenants to screen prospective landlords should be passed.  Preventing the situation from getting this bad would save money, time, and difficulties for all parties involved.

What else should tenants know?

Tenants who find themselves living in a building that has either been condemned by a city, or whose landlord’s license has been revoked, may not be obligated to pay rent.  If the home has been condemned, the tenant may also request in writing to have their full security deposit returned to them within 5 days.  Collecting this deposit could take some work a tenant’s part, however, possibly by taking the landlord to conciliation court.  Because each situation is different, it is best for tenants to consult with an attorney (at HOME Line, Legal Aid, or other legal counsel) before deciding to withhold rent.

What else can tenants do?

Share with us your thoughts how screening your landlord before signing your lease would have helped you make a more informed (or different) decision about where you chose to live, or where you will choose to live next.

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.

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.

As many know, bursting housing bubbles, foreclosures, and ever-cautious mortgage lenders are all contributing to a tightening rental market. Fewer choices in apartments make those that are safe and decent less affordable.

In its efforts to de-concentrate those ‘pesky college-aged renters,’ could Winona’s nimby-inspired rental limitations be failing to accommodate the growing need for decent and affordable rental housing in its communities? Read how a couple named in this Postbulletin.com article wound up in a quandary while trying to provide a nice home for their daughter and other potential college-aged renters.

Lindahl Properties own apartments across the metro area, almost all of which have faced scrutiny regarding poor living conditions. See previous coverage on them here.

If you are living at an apartment owned by Lindahl Properties where conditions are bad, you have rights that protect your family in this situation. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to sue the landlord or even withhold rent depending on the condition of your apartment unit. Please call us for free and confidential legal advice about your individual circumstances: 612-728-5767, or email an attorney here.

Read more about Lindahl Properties:

Burnsville suspends license of problem-plagued complex
—Katie Humphrey, Star Tribune, 10/19/11

Council Clamps Down on Country Village, Suspends Landlord’s License
—Clare Kennedy, Burnsville Patch, 10/19/11

Burnsville apt. complex has rental license suspended
—Dave Berggren, KARE 11, 10/20/11

Burnsville apartments have bedbugs, cockroaches — and now no new tenants
—Jessica Fleming, Pioneer Press, 10/20/11

Litany of complaints plague rental properties owner
—Herón Márquez Estrada & Kelly Smith, Star Tribune, 10/21/11

There is a major short-fall in the availability of rental housing people can afford.  This is not a new problem.  It’s been a growing one for at least a couple of decades, if not longer.  It wasn’t caused by today’s recession, but the country’s economic decline has made it far worse.  As job-loss continues, so does the rise of foreclosure and the ability for households to pay market rents.  Many who are lucky enough to keep their jobs are experiencing pay freezes and salary cuts.  Incomes are rapidly decreasing as the rental market tightens, causing rents to increase.  All is happening at a time when public and political pressures are pushing to cut programs that assist households with rent—programs that were already overwhelmed with need before the recession hit.  Now is when the pressure mounts to cut them back even further.   Households with low and shrinking incomes are demonized in their communities whether they are at fault for their situations or not.  The problem is widespread.

A couple of recent articles shed a glimmer of hope on the subject of affordable housing and homelessness prevention.  These articles from the Star Tribune and The Line highlight some non-profit developers whose mission it is to preserve and provide housing that meets people where they are financially, and to provide the tools that individuals need to get and stay on their feet and lead productive, healthy lives.  These developers work in partnership with other private corporations and with federal programs to keep this housing going.  More of these partnerships are going to be needed to keep our communities adequately housed.

In addition to many other concerns, many Minneapolis tenants affected by the May 22nd tornado are still facing problems with their housing. In this video posted by the Twin Cities Daily Planet, one resident shares his concerns and frustrations about government officials, non-profits, and the state of disrepair of his mom’s home.

(Unfortunately, HOME Line is not able to offer our free tenant hotline to Minneapolis callers, unless their landlord is in foreclosure. Tenants in Minneapolis should call Minneapolis Housing Services at 612-673-3003 or Legal Aid at 612-332-1441. We can, however, share some basic information that may be of assistance to renters impacted by the tornado, and that information is below.)

MN State Statute 504B.161 states that it is the landlord’s responsibility to keep the property fit for the use intended. This obviously includes things like fixing broken windows and gas lines—or in the case of the gas service, it could mean paying the gas bill if the lease says it is the landlord’s job to do that. It does not cover damage caused by a tenant’s (or tenant guest or family member) intentional, malicious, or irresponsible actions—tenants are responsible for such damages.

Write a 14 Day Letter—Every time
The best practice that Minnesota tenants can and should exercise is to make every repair request in writing (sign it, date it, keep a copy) and mail or deliver it to your landlord. Call or text your landlord if you want to, but make sure that you ALSO put the request in writing. This way, if your repair problems get out of hand, you have the option to go to court and show a judge that the landlord knew about the problem, and still did not fix it. The law allows 14 days for a landlord to make a non-emergency repair before a tenant can take legal steps to enforce the repair.

Other options:

Emergency Tenant Remedies Action for specific kinds of emergency repairs.

Rent Escrow for non-emergency repairs.

Rent Abatements
or rent refunds, or partial refunds, can be requested by the tenant in a rent escrow hearing. When an immediate problem has already been solved, a tenant may still be able to recover damages in Conciliation Court. First, it is up to the tenant to show a judge that they had damages that the landlord knew about and did not fix. Second, the tenant must be able to show a judge the value of their losses while paying rent. Let’s use the destroyed garage as an example for how a tenant can do this. If a tenant’s garage rent is included in the total monthly rent, s/he can find out how much the neighbors pay for garage rent for a similar sized garage. Let’s say the tenant learns that comparable garage rents in the area go for $100/month. So the tenant would be able to ask the judge for $200 in damages for the two months they went without the use of their garage.

This InForum article describes a Craigslist rental scam that shares similarities with a complaint from a recent caller to HOME Line’s hotline.  The call inspired us to post a few tips for a successful apartment search.   Here, we offer suggestions for doing your own background check on prospective landlords, as well as for ensuring that you do not fall victim to scams in the local want ads.

DIY Landlord Background Checks:

Before making a final decision on an apartment, do some Internet research on the prospective landlord.  Don’t just think of the landlord as the person who is showing you a place or taking your application.  There can be anywhere from one individual to a couple of corporations who might be running the place that you are thinking of renting.    It is sometimes difficult to find information about a company or person, unless you are searching from a number of angles.  Here are some different entities to consider searching:

• The actual owner of the property. This can be an individual or a corporation (a formally registered business entity). If it is a corporation, there may be several investors (owners).
• An individual manager or leasing agent who would be your primary contact.
• A corporation that is considered the management company.
• Any number of on- or off-site staff who may be employed by a single owner or a corporation.
• For example, research the individual or busi­ness to whom rent is paid, and/or who is listed as the “Agent for Service of Process.”
• Also try looking up the property name and/or address.

Criminal and civil court case records can be accessed at http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/default.aspx. You can search for either civil or criminal records involving a person or company, and find how often a landlord or property owner has been taken to court for civil cases like rent escrow, conciliation court, or filed evictions or unlawful detainers against other tenants. If you see a lot of rent escrow cases filed, for example, it may suggest that this person does not make timely or adequate repairs.

Search by:

• Choosing “Civil, Family & Probate Case Records” (All of tenant-landlord law is considered civil law.)
• Searching by party.
• Use a * in place of letters if you are unsure of the spelling.  For example, type “Jo*” for John or Jon.

• You can also look up criminal records by:
• Choosing “Criminal/Traffic/Petty Case Records”
• Searching by party.

Check out apartment review sites where tenants post their experiences with a landlord or building.  These can be helpful when you are gathering information from a lot of sources, but it is not advisable to base your whole decision on these alone. Since posts can be and are sometimes made by anyone they are not always reliable on their own.

Try doing a basic Internet search on a landlord or property; sometimes newspaper articles, city council minutes, or even law suits could come up.

Visit the Better Business Bureau’s website to see if other tenants have lodged any complaints against the landlord.

While the Internet is a great place to find information on landlords who are known for bad business, it doesn’t always provide the information you really want to know.  Your online searches may even turn up nothing. One of your best sources of information is talking to several tenants in the building to get a variety of viewpoints. Information to try to get includes:

• Quality and overall atmosphere of the apartments
• If there are problem neighbors or concerns with management
• Responsiveness of the landlord to requests for repairs or other services
• Knowledge of whether security deposits are returned promptly
• If the apartment is worth the current rent advertised
• Any tips for move in or for a tenancy

Know what you should expect and watch for situations that don’t seem right.

Most landlords charge tenants for the cost of a background check (usually some­where between $25 and $75 per adult). If the landlord charges a fee to run the back­ground check, he or she must:

• Have a clearly written set of criteria for what circumstances will cause an appli­cation to be denied.

• Return the application fee and notify the applicant if the landlord denies you for something not written in the criteria.

• Process applications in order of receiving them. This means if 10 people apply for a single apartment unit, a landlord cannot pick his or her favorite of the 10 after running the background checks on all of them. Instead, the landlord must check the background of the first applicant and if approved, return the application fees to the remaining nine people. If the first applicant is denied, the landlord can move on to the second, process it as the first was, and continue as appropriate for each approval or denial in order.

You should never be asked to fill out a credit report or pay a deposit before viewing an apartment.  If the landlord refuses to let you see a place before you share private information or offer money,  you probably should walk away.

Never apply for or sign a lease for an apartment without seeing the actual unit. You should insist on seeing the actual apartment unit they will be renting before signing anything or offering any money.

You should always take time to review a lease before signing it. If a landlord is reluctant to provide the lease in advance, it should be a warning sign.

Before answering an ad posted on Craigslist, take a minute to read their page on avoiding scams at http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams and consider their personal safety tips.

This recent Star Tribune article highlights the chaos and uncertainty North Minneapolis residents now face as they figure out next steps to getting their lives back on track.  http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/122481804.html?page=2&c=y The article notes that most renters do not have renter’s insurance, leaving them without many assets to fall back on.  What the article does not discuss, however, is that these families do have the right to their security deposits.

According to Minnesota Statute 504B.178 subd. 3(b)(1), tenants have the right to recover their full security deposits within five days of the legal condemnation of their apartment.  If a tenant’s rental unit that was hit by the storm is no longer habitable, it may qualify as a legal condemnation.

The request to the landlord for the deposit must be in writing, and it must be mailed first class, providing a forwarding address for the landlord to mail the check.

Many residents who are now homeless from this disaster may be struggling to meet these basic conditions that many of us take for granted.  The good news is that the forwarding address does not have to be an address where they are living.  It could be that of a relative or trusted friend.  While a returned security deposit is no match for a renter’s insurance claim, a few hundred dollars can help a family in crisis meet any number of needs.

If you are renter who lost your home to last weekend’s storm, you may call Legal Aid at 612- 332-1441 or Minneapolis Housing Services at 612-673-3003 for more information.