Tenants Unions fed up with living conditions picket outside Denver management company

Nearly a week after the newly formed Denver Metro Tenants Union held its first official meeting, on Wednesday it organized its first official picket with the Clarkson Tenant Union, outside of the Boutique Apartments management company.

Renters at The Clarkson, located at 1756 Clarkson St., in Denver, formed the Clarkson Tenant Union back in January because they say the conditions at the building remained unkept, adding that the management team isn't doing anything about it.

"Our issues with Boutique Apartments started immediately when we moved in," said Gordy Goetz, a tenant.

Renters tell CBS News Colorado not only have they gone days without water, but many of the building's doors and garage are broken, and the elevator doesn't work, among several other issues.

"The kitchen sink nearly collapsed on itself," said Karuna Srikureja, a Clarkson Tenant Union member. "The washing machine was broken. The dishwasher was broken."  

Those living at the apartments say they are fed up with the negligence of the management team. Tenant Sam Jimenez says not only do they deal with overflowing trash bins daily, but also have malfunctioning water heaters.

"They've been bursting and causing flooding in neighboring units," Jimenez said. "One resident was forced to vacant for a whole month and didn't get any compensation for that."

Jimenez says once she started organizing with her neighbors, the management team retaliated by slapping her with a lease violation, a non-renewal letter, along with threats to take legal action.

Denver is seeing more and more tenants unions pop up, because many renters say they are frustrated with corporate landlords and bad renting conditions in the metro area and no accountability being held.

"I have not spoken to any renter, who has not experienced these kinds of issues. So I think that's pretty stark and these aren't small things. They really add up and impact your health, your quality of life, your safety," said Sarah Parady, incoming Denver council member-at-large.

CBS News Colorado contacted the management company about the concerns and Nick Costanzo, the President and COO, responded with a statement, saying:

First, due to new legislation, this property was recently inspected and a residential rental license was granted on 11/23/2022. This specific building was constructed in 2012 and requires upgrades and repairs as the building ages.We are actively working on an access control system upgrade in which permitting was secured from the city on 03/23/23. We anticipate this system being installed by the end of the month. Key access has been in place as a bridge solution while the electronic replacement was sourced, designed and permitted.  

We do our best to coordinate with residents and vendor availability to get all necessary repairs completed in the most efficient fashion. Repairs including water heater repairs arise as the building ages. With water heaters specifically, a brief interruption in water service is required for replacement. We have proactively inspected all units within the building and are replacing aging water heaters with minimal service interruption on weekday afternoons.

Elevators are maintained by a 3rd party. We transitioned management of the service contract back to the original supplier due to lack of performance of our previous management contract. All calls for service are do require a 3rd party to resolve however those calls are treated with high priority and all efforts are made to get service expedited. Claims of non-renewal in relation to residents reporting concerns with these issues are categorically false. There are no non-renewals that are in any way related to building repair issues that were brought to our attention.

In fact, we have attempted to be proactive in how we inform residents about their surrounding environment as changes develop.  When issues are brought our way, we look for the best cure over the quick cure if it is an age related or useful life cycle issue with our building and potential needed upgrades.  Lastly, we have been impacted by increased vandalism, petty theft and crime as our city grows. 

We do our best to accommodate our residents' requests, work with local authorities, and 3rd party security whenever necessary. Looking back at our records, we have communicated with our resident community consistently regarding the issues listed in your email. While we understand that each resident's experience is different, we have multiple tenured residents and are actively renewing residents at this community.

But tenants say they'll keep fighting until they see real change, not just for them but for all Denver renters.

"The companies can threaten to push us around, but if we stand together they lose," another tenant added.

CBS News Colorado contacted the Apartment Association of Metro Denver for comment, but did not hear back before the deadline. 

The unions have started a hotline to address renters rights. For more information call 720-773-9001.