A local tenants rights group is protesting pre-eviction notices at a south Minneapolis apartment complex owned by a property management group facing a separate state lawsuit over high utility fees.
About 50 people gathered on the front lawn of one of the Blaisdell Apartment buildings in Minneapolis on Thursday morning to pressure the owner to increase security, update old appliances, complete repairs and meet with tenants.
Edain Altamirano, head of Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia, said the Utah-based Investment Property Group has a pattern of quickly pushing out tenants from their units through evictions.
“We know that this landlord doesn’t live in Minnesota,” she said. “The landlord does not communicate with people they are targeting, especially areas that know they can have more profit.”
The Investment Property Group sent out pre-eviction notices in early February to at least 18 tenants it says did not pay their rent.
Many are East African and Latino immigrants. Several tenants in at least 10 apartment buildings managed by Investment Property Group teamed up with Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia, a renters’ rights nonprofit in Minneapolis, to push for improved living conditions with a list of demands. The property management company has a week to respond.
Tenants are demanding a meeting with the management company, a 24-hour maintenance repair line, updates to old appliances, added security measures including guards at night, and consistent communication from management about late payments and repairs.
“[The Investment Property Group] has decreased our quality of life here. We know how things were done before they took over,” Michael Faruq, a longtime tenant said in his speech. “Once they took over, everything changed for us and we’re seeking relief from IPG.”
The management company did not return messages seeking comment.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Investment Property Group in 2023 for allegedly violating state laws by charging tenants “exorbitant” utility fees. The lawsuit is still active, but the company has agreed to stop evictions against tenants over utility fees at 11 apartment buildings, which is separate from the pending evictions over rent.
Brian Evans, press secretary for the Attorney General’s Office, said he can’t share details about the case such as new evidence, or whether there are violations of the court agreement or retaliation against tenants for organizing. He also said the office could not comment on the pending evictions.
He encouraged tenants to contact the Attorney General’s Office if they feel they are wrongfully evicted, or if they feel the management company violated its agreement with the state. Tenants seeking individual legal representation should contact HOME Line and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, he said.
Investment Property Group filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was denied, Evans said.
Investment Property Group, a private real estate investment and management company, owns and operates more than 120 apartment buildings, RV communities, and manufactured parks throughout the nation. It manages about a dozen apartment buildings in Hopkins, Wayzata and Minneapolis.
Tenants said problems started escalating when the company took over management of the Blaisdell Apartment buildings about six years ago.
Valerie Mack, a 69-year-old Army veteran, has lived at Blaisdell Apartments for 12 years. Since last summer, her framed pictures have sat in boxes because she has been waiting for new paint on her walls after filing a maintenance request.
In Mack’s living room, rugs cover bald areas in the carpet, she said. In her kitchen, several cabinets damaged by a small fire remain unrepaired after eight months.
She received a pre-eviction notice in February. A letter from the county Housing Court says she owes $2,000 by this Friday and another $1,000 by April 4.
Before the pre-eviction notice, Mack said she was not aware of late payments. She had receipts verifying that the money orders she used to pay rent were cashed.
Since the pre-eviction notice, Mack has asked for financial help from her church, the county and other resources.
Over the years, Mack has checked her rent ledger by asking for printouts at the office. But some of the dates are missing, the amount of unpaid rent fluctuates up or down, and she is irregularly charged for her parking spot in the garage.
When she asks the property managers about her rent ledger, she said oftentimes they’re unsure how to answer or help her.
“I hope that IPG has the guts to step up and say something, speak to us, and take care of this property and everybody’s needs that they need in their apartments,” she said.
Manuel Alvarez, 46, said he has to go into the office to hand his rent check to management staff because he doesn’t trust the drop box. Alvarez, who spoke at the news conference, immigrated to Minnesota from Ecuador more than a decade ago.
He and his wife have lived at the Blaisdell Apartments for 12 years. Before the Investment Property Group took over, he said the tenants in his apartment building used to be a tight-knit community. But close relationships with other tenants have dwindled as people have moved out because of the worsening living conditions.
For the past seven years, he said the heating in his living room has been broken.
When he brings up maintenance issues with the staff, they usually respond with indifference.
“When I reported it again, the people in the office say I’m being so dramatic, like I’m exaggerating things,” he said in an interview after the news conference. “They never send somebody to fix things.”
He also has made multiple calls to police over safety concerns. Sometimes, strangers climb trees and the building’s drain pipes to get into his unit through the balcony, he said.
“I always follow the traditions and the way my parents raised me to respect others and to respect property of others, and that’s something I’d like to see here, especially in a place where I live,” he said. “Like a family.”
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