Tenants Sue Portland Apartments Over Heating Issues

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A group of tenants has filed a $1.8 million lawsuit against a Portland apartment complex over heating issues,

A group of tenants has filed a $1.8 million lawsuit against a Portland apartment complex over heating issues, according to reports.

The complaint alleges the landlords breached their duty to remedy maintenance issues and are seeking $1.8 million for economic and non-economic damages, koin.com reported.

The complaint — which was first reported by The Oregonian — was filed on January 22 by 15 tenants who live in the Glencourt Apartments, against the apartment complex, property managers with The NWV Group, and Turk Investments, LLC. The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Tenants say they pay between $935 and $2,265 per month for their units in the Portland apartment complex and claim the complex’s owners and managers are violating the Oregon Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which requires all landlords to provide adequate heating systems maintained in good working order.

A representative with NWV Group told KOIN 6, “Both NWV Group and Glencourt ownership take tenant complaints very seriously and work together to address reported concerns.  Glencourt ownership and NWV Group value our residents and their habitability.  At this time, we have no open heat or habitability issues that have been submitted by tenants at Glencourt.”

According to the lawsuit, the “lack of heat” in the apartments on East Burnside Street has been well-known by the landlords and “ignored since well before 2021.”

“Defendants have outrageously delayed conducting long overdue repairs, instead forcing their tenants to endure winter after winter of unprecedentedly low temperatures, storm after storm,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that the landlords have received “incessant reports” over the course of many years, and since at least 2021, “there has been no significant period of time that the heating system has been properly maintained and provided adequate heat.”

One renter claims six of her eight windows have been in disrepair and do not fully close, allowing frost to enter her home, and similar to other tenants, she has isolated one room to try to stay warm, the lawsuit alleges. Another tenant claimed her windows also failed to protect the apartment from the weather, causing snow to pile up on her window inside the apartment.

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