Foreclosure of the Lowry Building in St. Paul and Minneapolis for Tenant Rights Violations

The foreclosure and auction of the Lowry Building in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, scheduled for next month, highlights a significant issue: a clear violation of tenant rights. Despite clear state regulations requiring notification in such situations, the residents of the 11-story building remain completely uninformed about the foreclosure process.

Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega, a member of the House’s Housing Finance and Policy Committee, told a local media outlet that several downtown St. Paul residents, who are tenants in properties owned by Madison Equities and now facing foreclosure, have contacted her office over the past month to discuss management and safety issues they are currently experiencing in their homes. María Isa Pérez-Vega describes these situations as unacceptable, ranging from elevator failures trapping disabled individuals to rodent infestations and general lack of maintenance.

Due to the lack of proper notification to tenants by the management, they have not had the opportunity to secure their housing, defend their interests during this foreclosure process, or find a new place to live in time, which undoubtedly represents a clear violation of their human rights and local regulations.

Representative Pérez-Vega calls on city and county leaders in the district to prioritize providing resources to address this issue immediately. “It is concerning that my office was the first to respond to tenant issues when the building facing foreclosure, which houses many tenants who attended and organized a meeting yesterday, is right across from City Hall,” said Pérez-Vega.

She continued, “As the author of the tenants’ right to organize law in Minneapolis and St. Paul House, I stand with my constituents who are asserting their rights. In foreclosure situations, all tenants should have been informed, not left to find out from a newspaper headline. My office will contact the Attorney General’s office to explore further tenant protections and hold negligent landlords accountable. We will also work tirelessly to ensure tenants have resources and that landlords are held responsible for their actions, especially in cases of foreclosure and mismanagement.”

Available Foreclosures:

St. Paul: 5 homes available.

By Elias DaSilva | October 14, 2024.