We are currently litigating 13 class action lawsuits against corporate landlords with claims seeking to halt profit-prioritizing strategies and seek redress for impacted tenants to alleviate financial burdens responsible for perpetuating housing insecurity, homelessness, and the erosion of affordable housing. Our class action lawsuits collectively cover over 85,000 units across the state. Of the more than 71,000 units across 260 properties represented within the Denver metropolitan area, we estimate more than 18,000 of these households are considered indigent, having a household income that does not exceed 200% of the family federal poverty guidelines.
By employing class action lawsuits against the largest corporate landlords that prioritize profit over tenant well-being and shape industry practices, we strive to hold landlords accountable for each tenant impacted by unlawful and profit-driven strategies that perpetuate housing insecurity.
Class actions allow us to advocate on behalf of thousands of similarly impacted tenants through the filing of one lawsuit, offset the limitations presented by limited legal advocacy, and mitigate the inherent power differential between tenants and landlords, making it financially burdensome for landlords to engage in unlawful practices.
These class actions alleged that Tschetter’s practice of communicating to tenants that late fees and/or attorney fees had to be paid in addition to rent to resolve a pending eviction violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Both cases were ultimately resolved through a confidential settlement with the individual tenants. These cases benefited more than just Ms. Franklin and Ms. Segura, however. Tschetter stopped its blanket practice of including late fees and attorney fees in its standard “Demand for Rent or Possession” form after these suits were filed, which in turn has benefitted the thousands of tenants Tschetter initiates evictions against every year in the state.
This active class action lawsuit alleges that Echelon Property Group, LLC (“Echelon”) charged its tenants improper late fees under the threat of eviction. Additionally, it alleges that Echelon violates Colorado’s Rental Application Fairness Act across the state. Echelon was acquired by Asset Living, the nation’s 2nd largest residential landlord, and together they rent to tens of thousands of Coloradans. Together, the challenged practices exacerbate Colorado’s housing affordability crisis by reducing the bargaining power of renters shopping for a home and thereafter slapping improper fees on top of already unaffordable rents. The lawsuit hopes to put a stop to such practices and to put money back in the pockets of Colorado renters.
This on-going class action lawsuit was filed against Portus, LLC, one of Colorado’s largest property management companies, as well as, the apartment ownership company, alleging that Portus systematically charges its Colorado tenants improper late fees and attorney fees, and improperly seeks to collect them through eviction actions. It is hoped that the suit will yield thousands of Colorado renters 1) money being put back into their pockets, 2) the restoration of their housing and credit records, and 3) changes in Portus’s business practices.
This class action lawsuit was filed against Tschetter Sulzer, P.C. in the U.S. District Court for Colorado in January of 2022 alleging that Tschetter’s form stipulation misled tenants into stipulating to an eviction. Tschetter ultimately agreed to a class action settlement in the case, which provided class member tenants with a meaningful monetary payment, a process to clear their housing and credit records, and changes to the eviction firm’s business practices. Given that Tschetter files tens of thousands of evictions every year in Colorado, the changes brought by this case directly benefited tens of thousands of Coloradans.
This certified class action – we believe the first ever certified class action bringing claims under Colorado’s warranty of habitability law – was filed in District Court for City and County of Denver against Cardinal Group Management & Advisory, LLC (Cardinal Group) and Glendale Properties I & Glendale Properties II (Mint Urban Infinity or MUI). The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants operated the 561-unit MUI apartment complex in a dilapidated and untenable condition in violation of Colorado’s Warranty of Habitability statute and their contractual obligations to maintain the property with customary diligence. Among other things, the suit seeks an award of damages for over 2,000 former tenants against Cardinal Group and MUI for an abatement of rent – essentially a refund – for amounts paid that exceed the actual rental value of the MUI apartments given their condition during a nearly 4-year period. The case is scheduled for a jury trial in March of 2025.
Cardinal Group owns and manages more than 35,000 residential dwelling units in 37 states, including roughly 3,000 units across 14 multi-unit residential properties in Colorado, while the entities that owned MUI during this period appear to have been subsidiaries of Mapletree, a $77-billion international investment outfit.
We have helped bring multiple class action lawsuits against landlords challenging unlawful move-out charges and security deposit retentions. Such charges are often assessed to penalize tenants who end their lease early without any relation to the actual time it takes a landlord to relet a unit (for example, a move-out fee that equals 2-months rent when a landlord can replace a tenant within 2 weeks) or to recoup a landlords renovation or “turn” costs to prepare a rental for a new tenant. These abuses can perpetuate housing insecurity as tenants are frequently stripped of security deposit refunds needed to obtain new housing and are pursued by collections agencies for the balance, which, in addition to undue stress and anxiety, hampers a person’s credit worthiness when seeking future housing. Our lawsuits in this space, brought against giant corporate landlords such as Greystar, AMC and MG Properties, seek monetary damages, credit restoration, and putting an end to such abuses on behalf of tens of thousands of proposed class members.
We are also engaged in several class action lawsuits to combat industry wide violations to the Rental Application Fairness Act (RAFA), which prohibits excessive rental application fees that strip renters of the bargaining power they need to ensure a functioning, competitive rental market that can help keep rent prices in check. Since RAFA’s enactment, landlords have been circumventing or ignoring the law by charging “administrative,” “move-in,” and “holding” fees to applicants. These fees, charged during the application process, often exceed $200 and are described as non-refundable to deter applicants from continuing to shop for housing. Our RAFA litigation, which would impact over 100,000 Coloradans should we succeed in obtaining class certification, seeks to end these abusive practices and to obtain monetary damages for rental applicants who paid improper charges.
Despite provisions to the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), corporate landlords increasingly incorporate hidden and misleading “junk fees” for services like pest control, valet trash, utilities, and payment processing costs. In 2024, we achieved first-of-its kind, class action certification of an action bringing a “Junk Fee” claim against a property management company in Colorado that manages over 3,000 rental units. Our pioneering class action litigation challenging Junk Fees in the residential housing space was the first of its kind in Colorado and has been a catalyst for tenant rights legal advocacy across the nation. We are actively pursuing a host of “junk fee” class actions, including against the largest corporate landlord in Colorado and the nation, Greystar. If certified, these cases have the potential to benefit well over 50,000 Coloradans. In addition to ending these profit-gouging practices that exacerbate housing insecurity, these class actions seek to put money back in the pockets of renters and to clear up tarnished credit and eviction records that can haunt renters for years. In total, our active junk fee class actions challenge the practices of hundreds of thousands of Colorado renters.
