Bridger Heights Tenant Union formed in Bozeman and is making demands of real estate investor 11 Capital. (Provided by Bridger Heights Tenant Union.)
Ozaa EchoMaker worries her toddler’s cough at night may be linked to mold in her Bozeman apartment at Bridger Heights.
It’s just one of the problems she described in the home she shares with her daughter, 5, and one of many issues she said she and other tenants have raised with the manager of Bridger Heights, an investment property of 11 Capital.
Friday, EchoMaker said the property manager agreed to have a third party conduct a mold inspection at Bridger Heights. The affordable housing complex has 50 units and is described online as having a “serene environment” and “stunning mountain views.”
EchoMaker, however, described the inspection concession as a “backhanded” win for the recently formed Bridger Heights Tenant Union. She said other problems abound, including soft drywall, flickering lights, broken glass where children might play — and a generally unresponsive property manager.
“Yes, we got something that we asked for,” EchoMaker said. “But it’s something that’s the bare minimum.”
11 Capital describes itself as a real estate investment company focused on multifamily “assets” valued at $1.4 billion in the western U.S. It did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and neither did its property manager, 11 Residential.
“We have absolutely no comment. Thank you,” said a person who picked up the phone Friday at 11 Residential before hanging up.
Tom Daniels, the executive vice president of 11 Residential, told NBC when the union demonstrated on Nov. 1 that Bridger Heights had received a score of 91% on a physical inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The letter from 11 Residential to residents about the third-party assessment also said inspectors who check for “moisture issues” will wear personal protective equipment in units “where illness has been reported.”
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Earlier this month, residents announced the formation of the Bridger Heights Tenant Union.
The group said the building houses low-income families, and it is many tenants’ “first home out of homelessness.”
The union said it was organizing in conjunction with Bozeman Tenants United, a citywide union in a place with notoriously high housing costs.
A recent labor report estimated 45% of renters in Montana are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their household income on rent. Zillow estimates median rent in Montana at $1,800, and in Bozeman at $2,500.
By comparison, a rent price filter on the Bridger Heights’ website starts at $1,100 and goes to $1,700. The website describes two- to four-bedroom units.
In the announcement it was forming, the Bridger Heights union, made up of 64% of building residents, said it was launching in coordination with other tenants in different federally financed properties elsewhere in the U.S.
Tara Raghuveer, director of the national Tenant Union Federation, said the reason unions are mobilizing is simple. In an email, the director said tenant unions across the country are part of the national federation, including Connecticut, Kentucky, Illinois, North and South Carolina, and Montana.
“The rent is too damn high,” Raghuveer said. “Rent is the largest bill most families pay every month, and more than half of tenants are rent-burdened, meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on rent. Something’s got to give.”
In some other places, the unions have seen successes. For example, Raghuveer said in Kansas City, KC Tenants is supporting two buildings that are striking over poor living conditions, and November is the second month of the rent strike.
“In one of the buildings, Independence Towers, tenants have won $1.35 million from Fannie Mae for repair needs,” Raghuveer said.
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In Bozeman, the Bridger Heights group said it was making demands of 11 Capital, whose Bridger Heights advertises “affordable housing” through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Under five years of 11 Capital’s mismanagement, tenants at the property have endured black mold, exposure to radon, water damage in apartments, degraded walls, faulty electric, months or years without response to maintenance requests, eviction threats, and retaliation,” the group said in a news release about their demands.
The union asked for damages to the tune of $5,000 per unit or 50% of the rent paid to 11 Capital, “whichever is greater,” and for property management to “cease all threats, harassment and intimidation.”
Daniels had denied retaliation to NBC. He did not respond to a message from the Daily Montanan.
Additionally, the union said the property manager should “respect tenants’ right to organize” and couldn’t evict without good cause.
The Bridger Heights Tenant Union also was making demands of the federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, which it said supported Capital 11’s purchase of Bridger Heights to the tune of $6.7 million.
The union said the Federal Housing Finance Agency must introduce an annual rent cap increase of 3% “as a condition of all existing and future federally-backed lending in multifamily and mobile home parks.”
The tenants union set Friday, Nov. 15, as the deadline for responses, but EchoMaker, one of the union members, said the only information she had received was the letter from 11 Residential, an arm of 11 Capital, declaring the company would do the mold investigation.
“All it’s going to do is tell them what we’ve already known and what should have happened years ago,” EchoMaker said.
A union member provided a copy of one of the letters from 11 Residential to tenants, dated Nov. 13, and announcing “third party inspections for Moisture Issues.”
“In response to the community’s concerns regarding moisture-related issues, we have engaged a third-party specialist to conduct a thorough, unit-by-unit visual inspection along with air sampling,” said the letter, signed by the property manager. “This mandatory inspection is intended to ensure the health and safety of all residents and will provide long-term benefits to the entire community.”
On its website, 11 Capital said it acquired Bridger Heights in 2019. The Bridger Heights Tenant Union said the owner plans to sell the building at a profit before the end of the year.
11 Capital also said it has “significant flexibility” in all of its transactions, it’s continuing to develop relationships with owners, lenders, and other industry professionals, and it is “actively pursuing acquisitions” in western states including Montana.
On its website, 11 Residential said it believes in the importance of “giving back” to local communities and charitable organizations, but it and 11 Capital did not respond to a question about its giving in Bozeman.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency also did not respond Monday to an email sent Friday.
At least for EchoMaker, moving is not in the cards; she can’t afford another home in Bozeman, and leaving her community of medical and social support isn’t an option for her or her daughter.
She said union members are discussing their next steps.
“We’re not going to stand down,” EchoMaker said.