Tenants of troubled Minneapolis building demand action from Utah-based property managers
A group of south Minneapolis renters are demanding action from their building's management company, alleging major maintenance issues are being ignored and tenants are being threatened with eviction.
The tenants, who live in the building located off West 21st Street and Pillsbury Avenue in the Whittier neighborhood, say they're facing terrible living conditions, from broken appliances to rodents and security issues.
"There's people in the hallways, there's people breaking into cars, sleeping in the laundry rooms," tenant Michael Hru said.
Members of the group Renters United for Justice (Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia) gathered on Thursday to highlight the problems, saying that despite reaching out to management, filing dozens of maintenance requests and calling 311, the work isn't getting done.
Some of the tenants have taken measures into their owns hands, volunteering to clean and keep watch.
"I walk these hallways, I take pictures, I look at the rodents, I look at dog mess, I look at human feces," tenant Valerie Mack said.
The group says some of the building's residents who have been complaining are now facing eviction notices. Many of those residents are immigrants from East Africa and Latin America.
They have five demands for the company, Utah-based Investment Property Group: address repair issues, create a 24/7 maintenance line, stop threatening evictions, update the building with security measures and meet with the tenants.
"We can go somewhere else with our money but we choose to live here because this community is our community," Yasmin Isse, who has lived in the building for 10 years, said.
WCCO spoke with one of the renters, who said his stove isn't working and the doors on the building are broken, among other issues.
"We want that the landlord meet with us. Maybe he don't know what's going on in their buildings … he has a responsibility to maintain the buildings and also like to keep the units and people safe," said the renter, translated by a member of Renters United for Justice.
Investment Property Group manages properties across the country, including over 20 in the Twin Cities.
WCCO has reached out to the company for comment and is awaiting a reply.
In 2023, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison launched an investigation into Investment Property Group, alleging the company was illegally charging tenants with high utility bills and trying to evict those who couldn't pay. His office sued, and the company agreed to cease that practice.
