HavenBrook Homes sued for violating consumer protection laws

By KSTP

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit against HavenBrook Homes, a residential property landlord in the metro area, and five other related companies.

The lawsuit says HavenBrook Homes owns, rents and manages over 600 rental properties in the state, and states its “failure to properly repair and maintain their rental homes is a violation of Minnesota law requiring landlords to provide habitable homes.”

According to the complaint, HavenBrook is currently leasing more than 480 single-family homes in Minneapolis alone, and manages more than 600 single-family homes in more than 50 cities throughout Minnesota. Across the nation, the company manages over 15,000 rental homes.

In addition, the lawsuit states the company often takes days to respond to urgent repair requests such as lack of heat, when it tells customers it will provide “around the clock” “same-day service” “seven days a week.” When repairs are made, the lawsuit goes on to say, the company “systematically fails to take mandatory lead-based paint safety precautions.”

According to the lawsuit, the company also told multiple tenants to move out during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were behind on their rent, which was a violation of an emergency executive order.

Ellison’s office says tenants have reported no-heat, backed-up sewer systems, doors and windows that can’t close, mold and others to HavenBrook, and some of those were reported multiple times.

“I filed this lawsuit because it’s my job to protect Minnesotans from fraud and abuse, and tenants are consumers of housing who are entitled to the same protections as all consumers. HavenBrook’s strategy of extracting profit from their tenants by claiming to provide them with prompt, high-quality maintenance and repair but actually leaving them in uninhabitable homes isn’t just shameful, it’s deceptive, fraudulent, and violates Minnesota law. I’m holding them accountable for it,” Ellison said in a statement.

Anyone who has a concern with HavenBrook Homes is asked to contact the Attorney General’s Office either online here, or by calling one of the following numbers:

  • Metro Area: 651-296-3353
  • Greater Minnesota: 800-657-3787
  • Minnesota Relay: 800-627-3529 

The other defendants listed in the lawsuit include:

  • Partners LLC, Front Yard Residential
  • Corporation, Midway AcquisitionCo REIT
  • SFR Investments V REIT, Pretium Partners
  • LLC, FYR SFR Borrower, LLC, and Home
  • SFR Borrower, LLC