Minneapolis apartment complex residents unionize after days without heat

Apartment residents unionize after heating issues

Residents of Brentwood Apartments in Minneapolis are taking landlords to court after living without heat for days last month. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has the full story.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Residents at a Minneapolis apartment complex are now unionizing under a new law after they spent days last month without heat. They’re demanding their money back and for things to get fixed.

Residents at Brentwood Apartments unionize

What they're saying:

Residents at the Brentwood Apartments organized 61 out of 102 units, and they’re taking their landlords to court.

It all stems from those heating issues. Residents claim management did not communicate with them and now allege retaliation.

"We were not willing to just pay our full rent and pay hundreds of dollars in heating bills when we didn't have heat for 14 days in January," said resident Jack Luedtke.

Luedtke is glad his heat is back on and running at the Brentwood Apartments. He tells FOX 9 that many of the residents got charged more than $100 for heat.

What residents want

How they're fighting back::

Residents can legally put rent and utilities into escrow.

"The landlord's lawyer has communicated with us that he believes that they are automated," said resident Emery Brush.

Brush says issues continue to pile up. They say the building is supposed to have secured entry but right now an outside door doesn’t lock.

"We had some homeless folks sleeping in the hallways for a while, and I know some folks have said they nearly got into physical altercations with them," said Brush.

Brush tells FOX 9, the notes they hung up in the hallway voicing their frustrations were taken down by management. Some residents even received evictions in the mail.

What the experts say

Tenants rights::

Tenant advocacy groups say this is a form of retaliation.

"Retaliation can look like no longer responding to maintenance requests. It can look like no longer having people staffed in the office. It can look like nonrenewal. Can look like eviction notices or attempts at rent increases," said Regan Reeck, Managing Organizer for Home Line.

Under a new renter’s protection law, you can unionize and fight back against your landlord. So far, 61 out of the 102 units at Brentwood Apartments have signed up, to have power in numbers.

"You have one tenant filing an ETRA notice to their landlord, saying, 'I will file if you don't fix this.' That's not as threatening as getting, you know, the entire building, getting 20 tenants to file the same complaint," said Reeck.