Low-income seniors sue property manager over rising rent

TIGARD, Ore. — A group of low-income Oregon seniors is suing their out-of-state property management company, alleging the company deliberately misled them by renting apartments that would soon jump in price.

The class-action suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court Tuesday against Denver-based Mission Rock Residential, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The company manages Woodspring Apartments, a federally subsidized building in Tigard.

This January, residents of Woodspring were told that the owner would soon bring the building’s 172 units to market-rate rent.

The suit argues that when San Francisco real estate firm Hamilton Zanze bought the property five years ago, the property managers knew of the plan to raise rent. The lawsuit alleges the property management company intentionally withheld that information and continued to market the units to people as a retirement option.

Michael Fuller, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, says a judge should consider this a form of false advertising and deem it an “unlawful trade practice.”

The suit names one plaintiff: Cheyenne, who began leasing an apartment in Woodspring in July 2020. According to the suit, Cheyenne, whose last name is not given in the legal documents, rented the apartment with the expectation that she would be able to stay for decades.

Fuller said he’s asking a judge to issue an injunction ordering the property manager to maintain apartment rents at a rate that is affordable for older people on a fixed income.

Mission Rock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.