Residents of Madison Estates held a community meeting to push back on their landlord for a myriad of issues that they say affect their health and financial wellbeing.
On Jan. 30, residents of Madison Estates on the far west side gathered at the Elver Park Community Center, 1201 McKenna Blvd., to voice their concerns over the status of their homes and sign a demand letter. The effort comes after residents say their attempts to address issues have been dismissed by the owner Highland Vista Group Management, a Denver, Co. based property company.
Residents say they have battled deteriorating units and health hazards for years. Multiple attempts by residents have been made to make the owner repair issues, but they say frequent turnover of property management and maintenance staff have left many to feel like little to no progress has been made. Now, residents are pushing to get tenant resource groups, the City of Madison and state protection agencies involved.
“This is not just my problem. It’s everyone’s problem,” said Felicia Koger, resident and organizer for tenants at Madison Estates. “Even though this community might be going through a lot, this community affects everything around us.”
Issues have been present for as long as many have lived there. Residents report that units and buildings are missing doors, have shattered windows, infestations of roaches and mice, mold, leaky pipes and faulty wiring. Tenants have made multiple complaints to city inspectors where orders have been issued to make repairs for many units but are not being met at all and or in a timely manner.
In addition residents claim the landlord is financially predatory for pushing the costs of common area utilities and pest control — charges typically not issued to tenants — along with other fees hidden throughout the lengthy, 85-page lease agreement.
Hidden fees noted include a redecoration fee and administrative fees prior to move in. The administrative fee is separate from the application based version of the fee typically bundled into applying and getting approved to rent a unit.
Residents like Heather Brun, Kenya Green and Fenique Bailey all claim the same general issues that cause them to feel unsafe.
Green and Bailey recalled the kitchen floor caving in and two years before anyone finally fixed faulty wiring that prevented heating in the apartment. Brun experienced leaky pipes that caused water to leach into the unit and cause damage that required significant repair.
Residents say these instances are symptons of larger issues from the property owners. In Brun’s time at the Madison Estates since March 2024, she’s seen six different property managers from the same company cycle through quickly. Green and Bailey have been there since 2022 and have lost track of how many short term property managers have come and gone. They say they’ve seen even more maintenance staff stay employed for a week or two before they quit and another comes in.
“They don’t even know who is in the apartments at all,” said Green. “They don’t even know who they’re hiring. They just look down at us because they can see our situation.”
The City of Madison, tenant resource groups and state agencies are now getting involved. At the community meeting, Urban Triage; the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Legal Action of Wisconsin; Department of Civil Rights; Madison Tenant Power; and Tenant Resource Center all came to speak with tenants facing issues.
District 20 Alder Barbra Harrington-McKinney also attended She said it’s not only Madison Estates, but residents at ReNew Madison Apartments, 6723 Schroeder Rd., have called her about unsafe living conditions.
McKinney said she looks for a baseline for what the city can do in terms of keeping property owners responsible.
“I need to know what the foundation looks like to really understand,” McKinney said. “Developers are building all these apartment complexes, but the thing is, once they are built, what’s the city’s responsibility to make sure that the developer and the property manager is keeping up the property?”
Attendees signed a demand letter asking for nine actionable items for the property to rectify problems.
Among demands are: fair rent and fees, security deposits and rent abatement, timely and adequate maintenance, effective pest control, enhanced security, equal treatment, address aggressive dogs in the area and adequate staffing.
Tenants claim they will seek new housing arrangements through breaking their lease under Wisconsin Statutes ATCP 134.08(3) and 704.29 and cite their right to rent abatement.
Highland Vista Group Management did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Residents plan to continue meetings to put pressure on the property owner and keep city and state agencies involved.
