Tenants at 1385 W. Galbraith Rd. have formed a tenants union in response to confusion and concerns with the new ownership of the apartment complex, operated by RLB II Properties LLC.

At the last meeting on Thursday, January 27, a majority of tenants at the complex agreed to send a letter stating their expectations to the new owners of the complex:

1. No rent increases until 2024 – begin negotiating a new lease with the 1385 Galbraith Tenants Union for all residents at current rates and cap annual increases at 3 percent after 2024
2. No evictions. Any late fees accrued/paid from Oct. 2021 - Feb. 2022 should be forgiven or credited to tenants’ balance.
3. A $225.00 credit to each tenant’s balance for February 1st to reimburse them for the power outage.
4. Audit of known maintenance issues & repairs
5. Ensure proper sanitation, groundskeeping and snow and ice removal

Plans to organize began when three of the four buildings in the complex were without power the weekend of January 14. Internet, cable, and lighting in the hallways went down, making it dangerous for tenants to go up and down stairs in the building. Laundry facilities were also without power, forcing all tenants to use the laundry facility in the one building which still had power.

This power outage was due to management’s nonpayment of utilities and tenants were confused as to who to contact as new ownership moved in. On top of the confusion, some tenants have been given notices to vacate after sending their checks to what they thought was the correct address. The landlord, claiming they never received the rent, seems to be moving to evict these tenants. What’s more, tenants are being told that rents will be raised from $450-550 to $700 dollars on March 1, amounting to an average 25% increase at the complex that is unaffordable for working class tenants, especially older tenants with fixed incomes.

A son of one of the tenants, Ken Talley, notified Cincinnati Tenants’ Union and Socialist Alternative to this issue. “My mom’s been living here for eight years,” Tally said. “She’s on a fixed income and she’s so confused right now–it’s making her nervous.”

Sharon St. Clair, a tenant of 18 years at the building said, “For what purpose are they raising the rent? They aren’t fixing anything around here. My stove element is broken but I can’t trust them to fix it correctly – they couldn’t even fix the leak in my unit.”

At a time when 24.5% of renters in Hamilton County are severely cost burdened, poverty has grown countywide by 40% since 2000 and there is an estimated shortage of 40,000 units of affordable housing for households making $14,678 or less, we cannot allow landlords to hike up rents on working people for the sake of short-term profits or neglect known maintenance issues.

Cincinnati Tenants Union and Socialist Alternative stand with the 1385 Galbraith Tenants Union and call on working people, unions, community organizations, faith institutions and city leadership in Cincinnati and North College Hill to support the tenants’ demands for decent and affordable housing.