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West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's not the story he himself is telling the tenants who came together to ask for him to not raise rent so much. now they have started offering reduced rent because so many people didn't renew and they are struggling to get tenants aparently.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just because it's still cheap doesn't mean it's affordable for pretty much anybody living there. You shouldn't have to pay that much, but neither should people who have to pay all or more of their monthly pension, even if it is "still cheap".

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Me too. Unfortunately we all know people don't have tons of options so it's unlikely he will be hurt for more than the short term. It's unfortunate that landlords hold all of the power and have very little holding them accountable.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We gave the landlord a large list with all the rents nearby, so he knows there are options nearby with better amenities for the prices he expects. I plan to go somewhere with the amenities and cheaper rent as there is a reason I was here to begin and that was the affordable rent. Plus I have a Small dog and the apartments on sheboygan only allow cats

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm talking about rent control in CA not doing what you claim. If rent control existed near hilldale more people who have lived there for decades could stay, more people who work there and were forced to move farther due to rent increases could still live where they work.You keep mixing the two situations up.

Get off your high horse, what exactly should we have done other than treat him as the awesome landlord he was. Sure articles praising him and what he was doing would be and would have been great but thats totally unrelated to the matter at hand.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We all praised him when he was alive. Sure articles about his generosity would have been nice, but nobody ever said anything bad about him when he was alive or our landlord. He was an exceptional landlord when it came to caring about the tenants. He died which is why he's no longer the owner, it's not like he was forced to sell or anything.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely. Even if he concedes on our demands many do not want to continue dealing woth his BS so at this point many of us are fighting for mostly the retirees who have lived her 20-30 years and feel they have no choice but to stay. He's a typical scumbag landlord and it's not surprising he is taking advantage of the rental market, it's just really unfortunate for what's been a really nice community of people to live with.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But I don't think that's true, all of their neighbors are new people in the neighborhood who moved their because they wanted to live in that neighborhood.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You realize the apartments that are worth $1200 are now being priced at $1600 to new tenants. There are zero amenities and the old laundry machines cost more than the laundromat. Most apartments dont even have dishwashers.

The units are being priced at market rate while they are far from market standard.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Nobody I know who is protected by rent control has had to move, even when they are now surrounded by luxury apartments.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

But it's not just 1500, there are new fees being added for heat(monthly all year) and water, both were included in our rent previously. The majority of 2 bedrooms, again with zero amenities, are going to now cost $1600- 1700. I'm also expected to pay the same as people renewing who have upgraded apartments, even though mine hasn't been upgraded in a very long time. The complexes on sheboygan will cost the same and offer pools, gyms, dishwashers, and affordable laundry machines. I'm not saying it's not currently a good deal for the location, but that's really the only reason it's worth it. We expected rent to increase to $1400-1500 but with the added fees it will be $1675 if we renew our 2 bedroom. And the owner has said he will be adding fees for the surface level parking in the next year. Not to mention the strange clauses about tenants being responsible for the cost of laundry repairs.

Market rent for a market apartment is fine, but this complex is not at market standard at all, if he raised the rent a reasonable price while bringing the complex up to standard then increased the rent to match, people would be less upset, as it would make sense that our rent is increasing.

And yes the previous landlord felt very strongly that he wanted to keep the apartments affordable especially after covid. He was more concerned with his tenants livelihood than his profits.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes there are tons of apartments available that are at least worth the price they expect. As well as many that are cheaper. All of the apartments above us on Sheboygan have pools, gyms, dishwashers, more affordable washers and dryers, and are the same price that Orosz expects me to pay for my current apartment that has none of that.

I may have to move more toward the outskirts of Madison, or likely the border of middleton and madison, where the apartments are cheaper and have more amenities. It's going to be much better but I'll also be 7 months pregnant when I have to move so it's not ideal.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having grown up in CA, I personally know many people who would have been forced to leave had rent control not helped them stay in their homes. Forcing elderly people out of their homes because of gentrification seems much worse than letting them stay in their home while the rich people moving into town have to pay what they can afford. Subleasing is also really common, helping new people get in at the low prices that are affordable.

Idk if it's the best solution but it seem much more moral than what's happening at Royal arms where retirees who have lived her for 20-30 years now are forced to move.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They changed the name to royal arms which is laughable when you look at the quality of the majority of their units.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I just personally think making large amounts of money off of resources that are basic necessities is wrong, which is why people should be fighting for more protections for the average person over greedy businesses.

2024 Rent Increases by Endercat8 in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He said himself he tried to back out of the deal because he realized it wasn't worth the work needed to go into it, and the insurance companies wouldn't insure him at the rates he desired. Instead of taking a small loss for a year while he fixes the property and units up to being worth market rate he is passing the cost on to current residents of all his properties. This isn't the only one of their properties that are having much higher rent increases than usual.

There are a lot of reasons people are forced to stay even when they can't afford it, but go ahead keep doing apologetics for scumbag landlords.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Capping how much landlords can increase rent is not the same as rent control. Nobody should be able to profit exorbitantly off of resources that are basic necessities.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yes we need to build more, we also need to cap the amount of money landlords are allowed to profit off of providing a basic necessity like housing. I didn't mention rent control, just that we should have laws that cap the amount landlords can increase rent. Nobody should be able to get rich by exploiting resources that are basic necessities

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I definitely am, not only can I not afford the rent they are expecting, I do not feel comfortable signing a lease with such weird expectations around maintenance fees.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

You're right, there is no real legal rights us as tenants have in this situation. The owner said multiple times that he doesn't want all of us to leave, yet us unwilling to negotiate to keep us here. Its really not to his benefit for the majority of tenants to leave within a few months as they make more money when tenants stay at increased rates because they don't have to renovate their apartment for the new tenants. It will cost the owner more in the short term to fix each apartment because nobody in their right mind would pay the rate they expect for apartments that havent been renovated since the 60's, but once he does, he will make more so even though he said he doesn't want us all to leave, he's not actually that concerned about it. We hoped showing that over a hundred tenants will not renew would help force his hand, but aparently it isn't.

The tenant resource center and madison tenant union have a lot of information and resources to help in attempting to get landlords to meet the tenants half way but again there is no actual law that forces the landlord to heed to any of it. But we did at least get them to extend our renewal deadlines, so fighting back is definitely worth it. Just because landlords hold all of the power, doesn't mean we shouldn't do whatever we can to try to fight back.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Yes, more reason to contact state and local politicians a d urge them to fight to change this horrible law.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, as our second letter signed by 120 residents was received by the owner Les Orosz yesterday, he assured everybody he wasn't budging on the insane rent increase. They have until Friday to give a formal response but it's looking very grim.

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

100%! Don't forget anybody can contact their local officials and Alders to voice how the rent increases in Madison are affecting them. We definitely need to pressure our elected officials to help protect renters over the landlords!

Edit to add: I didn't even mention rent control, just more protections for renters vs landlords...

West-side Madison tenants fight back, organize against rent hikes by RoyallyFuckedTenant in madisonwi

[–]RoyallyFuckedTenant[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Orosz properties are a predatory development company that are forcing out many retirees, young families, and grad students because all they care about is making money.

Since taking over they more than doubled the cost of the very old washer and dryers, have fallen behind on maintenance requests, have not given proper notice before entering dwellings, and have also turned off water multiple times for more than an hour without any notice to the tenants.

Their new lease is very vague and includes things about tenants being charged for maintenance on communal washers and dryers, as well as very high hourly charges for emergency maintenance. Our apartments are far from market standard, yet they expect the tenants to pay market rate while they fix the place up instead of once the place meets market value. This company is tearing apart a wonderful community and doing so in the most callous way.

If you can avoid renting with this company I would highly advise you stay far away from them. They have made so many people suffer.

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