July Updates
Uche Iroegbu | @uiphotographic
Progress (HavenBrook) Tenants Rise Up, Bringing Demands to Office
On Friday, June 17th, North Minneapolis HavenBrook tenants delivered a list of six demands to the office of HavenBrook, which changed their name to Progress Residential. The demands are:
HavenBrook freeze tenants’ rent with no future rent increases.
HavenBrook tenants receive reparations for harm done.
If a tenant needs to relocate or move, HavenBrook pays all costs of relocation, including refunding security deposits and fees.
All HavenBrook staff reflect the community and are qualified, respectful, available, and responsive to tenants’ needs.
HavenBrook does not retaliate against tenants.
When selling a home or portfolio, HavenBrook provides the right of first purchase to tenants and the ability to sell that right.
Like HavenBrook, Progress Residential is owned by Pretium Partners. Roughly 80 North Minneapolis HavenBrook/Progress tenants signed on to the list of demands, which they created over several community listening sessions.
As Margaret Little shared, “I am f***in angry. It makes me feel exploited. I don’t like that. No one deserves that. Not when we’re paying the kind of money we’re paying, while the head of this organization [Pretium] gets richer and don’t even lets the people near him in the office. The middle man. I’m angry, and we are going to continue to meet. Continue to meet with government officials. And one damn thing for sure. We will be back.”
Tenants at 3100 Bloomington Win Some Repairs, Continue Fight for More
Renters with the Tenant Unions campaign at 3100 Bloomington Avenue withheld May rent from their apartment owner. They called on their apartment owner to replace security doors in the building (not just locks), to charge fair and respectful rent, to make necessary repairs, and to meet with renters to discuss how to ensure safety in their homes. By joining together and raising their voices, the tenants won repairs in certain units, yet they continue to wait for their apartment owner to replace windows, carry out exterminations, and make other major repairs.
The Tenant Unions campaign also hosts Seeds of Hope, a group of tenants organizing to pass a strong rent stabilization policy. If you live in Wards 4 or 8, contact the Tenant Unions campaign to join in winning a strong rent stabilization policy.
Support Members of Sky Without Limits in Owning Their Home!
The Sky Without Limits (SWL) Cooperative serves as a prime example of what is possible when we come together to create housing that works for all of us. According to Unny Nambudiripad, a fundraiser for SWL, “SWL has begun to demonstrate the potential for community-owned cooperatives to create better alternatives to the current housing system in our city. In SWL, we see the generous love a supportive community can provide to families who have been forced to experience indignities and instabilities for generations.”
With your generous support, SWL can be fully member-owned. The buildings are currently being stewarded by the Twin Cities Land Bank. However, the cooperative wants to truly own their home so they have autonomy over community decisions. We are raising money for the purchase of these five buildings, 69 units, by April 2023. Our ambitious goal is to raise $2 million from institutions and individuals and secure $8 million in financing from City, State, and Private entities. We have already raised $1,100,000 toward this effort!
If you have the financial means, please contribute to making SWL a place where community thrives.
Rent Stabilization Work Group Must Center Tenants
On Thursday the Minneapolis City Council will hold a final vote on a proposed slate of renters, landlords, and developers to serve on the rent stabilization work group. Members of the Home to Stay Minneapolis coalition spoke out at Minneapolis City Hall about the need to center renters, act quickly and respect the will of the voters in the process.
Vanessa del Campo, an organizer with the Tenant Unions campaign and member of Sky Without Limits, shared the importance of ensuring renter voices are properly represented in the group so the outcome addresses the issues families are currently facing: “We need a work group where renters form a large part of it. Renters understand the things that are lacking for our families in our communities. People need resources in order to participate, like stipends, childcare, and accessible hours.”
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