HavenBrook Homes agrees to settlement with Minnesota’s attorney general

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HavenBrook Homes and six other defendants have agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement over allegations of failing to maintain rental properties in Minnesota and creating uninhabitable conditions for tenants.

As part of the settlement, announced Friday, HavenBrook Homes will put $2.2 million into a “restitution fund” for current or former tenants who “experienced delayed repairs,” according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office.

Restitution is also available for occupants “with elevated levels of lead in their blood, and who vacated their home due to HavenBrook’s violation of the Governor’s Emergency Executive Orders protecting tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

HavenBrook — one of Minnesota’s largest landlords — and Progress Residential will also forgive rental debt owed by their former Minnesota tenants up to a cap of roughly $2 million.

Also noted in the press release:

• Defendants Pretium Partners and Progress Residential plan to transfer their properties to affordable housing entities this spring and have “expressed their commitment to assisting low- and middle-income families who seek homeownership.”
• The settlement agreementensures that families who want to maintain their rental housing can do so.
• HavenBrook, Progress, and the other defendants are not required to transfer their homes to a new owner. But the settlement requires them to “comply with numerous habitability terms to ensure that their tenants have safe housing.”
• Tenants owing at least 2 months’ rent will be allowed to end their lease early and receive “past-due rent forgiveness.” All tenants are also eligible for $1,000 in relocation assistance per household.

In February 2022, the Attorney General’s office sued “a syndicate of corporations that collectively own, rent, and manage over 600 rental properties in Minnesota under the name ‘HavenBrook Homes,’” according to a court filing.

Court documents alleged that the defendants failed to maintain homes at livable standards and violated the state’s eviction moratorium, among other things.

A February 2022 press release from the Attorney General’s office said tenants reported conditions that included no heat, backed-up sewer systems, doors and windows that do not close, mold, wild animals in the home, and more.

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