Growing number of renters in the Omaha metro are turning to tenant unions

Growing number of renters in the Omaha metro are turning to tenant unions

OMAHA, Nebraska – A plumbing leak caused a hole in Halle Whitney’s Tadousac Apartment in Midtown Omaha.

“It took about two months to get that completed,” she said .

Kenna Barnes stated that she did not have a working bathroom sink for several months.

“That sucked. “I had to wash my hands in the kitchen every time,” Barnes explained. “It felt like I wasn’t at home.”

Barnes and her neighbors continue to have a problem with the emergency fire escape door not opening.

“(I) can’t get out,” she informed First Alert 6.

This month, Whitney and Barnes decided to form a tenant’s union, with approximately 60% of the building also joining. About a third signed a demand letter addressed to The Lund Company and delivered to the building’s on-site property management office last week.

“To have so many people sign on, it just proves something needs to change,” according to Barnes.

The letter contains 16 items, ranging from a request for plumbing, lead, and mold inspections to another internet service provider option.

Last July, First Alert 6 reported on Nebraska’s first known tenant union, which formed at an apartment complex in Bellevue. Six months later, reporter Bella Caracta checked in.

“Maybe a week, a week or two after we sent those demands, our parking lot was filled with contractors,” said Lou Flott, Fontenelle Hills Apartments’ union representative and resident.

First Alert 6 contacted The Lund Company, and president Tanya Shapiro responded to both reporter Bella Caracta and the union, stating in part:

“This is the first time I’ve been informed of any concerns in the community. As President of the Lund Company, I assure you that I will review and address all of the issues raised in the letter.

Some demands can be addressed, while others, she said, must be handled by the building’s owners, who are a separate entity from Lund. Of the tenants unions in the metro with whom First Alert 6 spoke, this one in Tadousac is the first to receive a direct response to their demand letter.

“We spend a lot of money on our rent every month,” said resident Whitney. “We kind of want to see that money going towards a better standard of living.”

The Tadousac Tenants Union and The Lund Company are currently working on scheduling a meeting.

The Lund Company is locally owned. Some of the other properties that First Alert 6 reported on but did not hear back from are based in other states. The First Alert 6 station is housed in a building managed by The Lund Company.

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