Squirrels In The Walls, Drug Users In The Halls: More Complaints For Twin Cities Landlord Terry Persaud
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities landlord faces new complaints over what tenants call unfixed problems in their apartments.
In January, a renter showed WCCO strangers living in her building and drug items that littered the halls. Since then, a former tenant in another building contacted us about unwelcome roommates living in his walls.
WCCO investigates how renters can get results.
Kyle Buros didn't expect the company at his place on Bryant Avenue South in Minneapolis -- especially guests with so much to say.
"They've been here probably three or four months," Buros said. "They're crazy noisy."
Buros says at least two squirrels have called his walls home for more than a year.
"They dug into the inside of the wall and they live there," he said.
But with what else he's documented, raucous rodents don't even register.
"That's the least of my worries" Buros said.
Needles litter the building's parking lot and mailboxes. WCCO spotted them wide open with no locks, awaiting repair.
"I've had people sleeping in the basement, all kinds of stuff," Buros said.
He told WCCO they stayed that way for days.
"Once I started asking around, Terry's name came up left and right," he said.
Buros is one of several renters who reached out to WCCO after we visited another Terry Persaud property just a mile away with similar problems: Drug litter, knives and a razor blade in the were in the hallway. And again homeless people sleeping inside.
In that case, city inspectors had cited the Harriet Avenue address more than 200 times in 15 years.
"I see what happens when you complain here, you get ran out," Buros said.
We found more than 100 violations at Buros' building. For days, Persaud didn't return WCCO's calls about Buros' complaints.
When WCCO spotted him outside in his SUV, he denied being in charge. When he pulled up to the property, we asked if he owned the property. He replied, saying "no."
"Get out of my face and stop recording me," Persaud said.
He later told WCCO by phone that Buros didn't pay his rent on time, and he had never entered any formal complaints online. Persaud also said has worked with police to remove trespassers in the past.
Buros told WCCO he raised concerns in person with Persaud before, but without results, he no longer bothered.
Attorney Michael Cockson has been on a mission since law school to make sure renters know their rights.
"At a human level it's not safe, it's not healthy, it's not sanitary," Cockson said.
He is not representing the tenants who contacted us, but for anyone with landlord disputes, Cockson suggests taking pictures and collecting items as evidence.
"We can all describe things in a subjective way and maybe it sounds bad or not bad, but a landlord is going to say, 'Oh everything is great.' So can you really demonstrate to the judge in a physical way what you're really experiencing at home," Cockson said.
He also encourages renters to report problems to city inspectors to add to the paper trail. In many cases, Cockson says complaint forms filed in court can be resolved in less than a month if tenants show they're serious.
"You get to live in a pest-free, rodent-free, mold-free house. That's just the deal," Cockson said.
Buros moved out shortly after our visit. The rodents here showed no signs of going anywhere any time soon. Buros says he's ready for a new view.
Persaud agreed to do a sit-down interview with WCCO two weeks ago. It hasn't happened.
Cockson says a tight rental market often makes issues worse. That may add to the number of complaints, as landlords sometimes have too much to deal with.
On the other hand, tenants don't feel like they can complain because there isn't anywhere else to go.
Below is a statement from Kim Keller, the director of the Minneapolis Department of Regulatory Services:
The City inspects rental properties to make sure these places provide safe and livable spaces for residents. Along with routine inspections, inspectors respond to all complaints. Property owners and managers are required to address any housing code violations found during these inspections. Failure to do so results in more re-inspections and ultimately higher fees for the owners, which provides a financial incentive to address livability problems. The City also has a growing number of alternative enforcement tools that it uses, including conditions on rental properties, an emergency repair board and Tenant Remedies Actions. Finally, beginning June 1, 2020, renters in buildings that have had licenses revoked will be eligible for monetary relocation benefits.
For more information on your rights or to search violations on other rental properties check out the links below:
To search Minneapolis inspection records click here.