Dear Landon — Landlord of the Ash Street Apartments:

We are writing this open letter to you, because we are your tenants who live at the apartment complex you recently purchased at 11940 SE Ash Street, managed by A&G Rental Management. We are responsible, hard-working, rent-paying tenants. Among us are single mothers working more than one job, immigrants, refugees, people of color, public transit dependent, elderly, and disabled. Some of us have lived here since the building first opened in 2009. This is our home, our neighborhood, and our community.

We are writing to you as the Ash Street Tenants Association, newly formed in the wake of overall dissatisfaction with A&G management. We understand how A&G might have seemed like an attractive choice to an owner like you; dealing with the day-to-day issues of a 12-unit complex requires a lot of time and attention. A landlord in your shoes — with a day job and a new rental property far away from your own cozy southwest neighborhood — would want to hire a capable and professional property management company that would see to all the details and do its best to care for and retain quality tenants like us. Indeed, A&G claims to make this entire process worry free for you. Therefore, we believe you must be unaware of how profoundly A&G has failed to live up to their promises.

Has A&G even told you what is happening at your property? Did you know that one tenant went without a working stove for three weeks? Did you know that belongings on our balconies were damaged due to power-washing last month which was performed without any notice or warning? Questions about our rental agreements have gone unanswered, or have been answered with conflicting and confusing information. A&G has done nothing to address uncollected garbage and hypodermic needles left in common areas by passers-by. The only movement on these issues came after the Willamette Week reported on how awful your property was being managed by A&G.

So imagine our surprise when, in light of these issues, and despite the fact that our rent has already increased in the last year, we all received notice last month — a choice between a more than 40% rent increase ($325 — $375) or forced displacement from a no-cause eviction. We were given 90 days notice, but only 30 days to decide our fate.

This notice was sent without a representative from A&G ever visiting our units, and perhaps never even viewing the outside of the property. If they had, they would know that they could not justify a $1200 rent given the garbage and the needles and the preponderance of visible and violent crime in our neighborhood. They could not justify an increase to $1200 a month for a property that has twice been the backdrop for day-time gang shootings, the most recent shooting in June, leaving a bullet hole in one tenant’s patio railing.

We formed the Ash Street Tenants Association to address these failures and violations of the law. Our association went to to the A&G office, along with Portland Tenants United, to insist that this increase be rescinded. They stared blankly at their computer screens and keyboards, not looking up once to acknowledge the impact this rent increase would have on us. They published a statement claiming that that the August 19th deadline wasn’t ever meant to be a deadline, and they blamed us for living in a city with a growing population. And they blamed you. They claimed that they were just the messengers — that owners make these decisions.

Now A&G won’t even communicate with us. Several of us have called or emailed them recently, asking for any kind of response. And there is none. Your tenants deserve better. Have you seen A&G’s Yelp or Google reviews? They are unpopular with tenants and owners alike.

Several of us are facing homelessness if this rent increase isn’t retracted. None of us can afford to move; most of us work at least two jobs and graveyard shifts. To find and apply for new housing is another full time job in and of itself. The constant worry and stress this has caused us is indescribable — it is all we think about. Surely you are aware of Portland’s growing housing and homelessness crisis. Rent increases like the one we are facing contribute directly to our to our growing homeless population. Our housing crisis is becoming a disaster of epic proportions — surely you do not want your apartment complex to be the face of that?

The whole city is watching now. Ash Street became a lightning rod for the frustrations felt by every renter in this city and metro area. The city will be watching when we move from our homes into tents, and when we pull our children from their schools just a month into the school year. We have hundreds of supporters, including government officials, candidates for office, the faith community, housing advocates, labor unions, lawyers, city bureaus, public health officials, neighborhood associations, and the media. The media coverage of our plight has been viewed and shared thousands of times. Even the police officer called to our demonstration at A&G’s office expressed his 100% support for our cause and our demands, as did the building manager of Harrison Square — A&G’s own landlord.

Landon, we know you want to do the right thing. We assume this abuse and neglect has been happening without your knowledge, and that you recognize us as real people who deserve a basic level of dignity and housing security. As a long time Portlander, who cares about this city like we do, we know you see us as more than rent. As a local landlord, we see you being a part of the solution to our housing crisis by saying no to property managers like A&G who are simply trying to maximize their own profits, without taking any responsibility for the consequences.

We hope that you will now take this opportunity to fix the problems caused by A&G, before we start the next phase of our public campaign. We are writing to request that you to rescind our rent increase notice, meet and negotiate with us for sustainable terms of tenancy, and fire A&G.

Landon, we’d like to lift you up as a champion against a merciless property manager, and show the city that you are not just another profiteer of the region’s housing crisis.

We look forward to receiving a response from you by Friday, August 26th.

The choice is yours. The Ash Street Tenant Association can be contacted by emailing info@pdxtu.org

Sincerely,

The Ash Street Tenants Association & Portland Tenants United