[dropcap size=big]G[/dropcap]erardo Garcia-Urbina has lived at the same crumbling Highland Park apartment for the past 20 years. The 45-year-old, along with his partner and three kids, put up with all manner of issues with the place. Water is leaking out of the bathroom ceiling, the dishwasher is coming apart from the kitchen counter, and they have cracked and yellowing floors. There are rats nesting by the apartment building’s dumpster.
Then, a company bought the building in September 2017. Garcia-Urbina started to see some minor improvements, such as a paint job on the front of the building and new carpets put in the empty units. Maybe he’d get his unit repaired?
Instead of fixing his leaky bathroom ceiling, Interstate Equities Corporation told him his rent would go up from $1,160 a month to $1,860, an increase of 60 percent. When he asked around, he and other tenants at the Avenue 64 Apartments found the new owners increased their rent from 50 to 70 percent, without any meaningful improvements to their units.
He found out about his steep fee hikes when he got a notice pinned on his front door in February by on-site manager Cedric Brooks. The landlord additionally tacked on new trash, water, and sewage fees to the tune of $120 a month.