No heat. No hot water. Poor water pressure. Water leaks. Pests. Mold. Busted electrical outlets. And broken doors and windows.
These are just some of the conditions residents of The Reed Apartments in Lakewood say they've been living with for months.
Some residents that Denverite spoke to said their complaints have gone unanswered, so in June they formed The Reed Tenants Union with the help of Denver-Aurora Tenants United, an organization that teaches tenants about their rights and helps form unions within complexes.
"This isn't a home," said Veronica Crum, who's lived at The Reed with her husband Kelly for a little over a year.
"We've had issues month after month after month..." she continued. "Every month we're battling charges, being ignored in emails, them not answering the phones."
Kelly continued, "It's been one thing after another...So, we just started talking to each other, trying to figure out what to do."
On Wednesday, residents presented a letter with their concerns and a request for a meeting to VareCo Investment Firm, the owners of the property, and Liv Lavender Property Management. VareCo and LivLavender did not immediately respond to Denverite's requests for comments.
VareCo and Liv Lavender took over the property at 1683 Reed St. in Lakewood more than a year ago. Residents say the conditions have worsened and that their relationship with management have soured.
Some of residents' concerns include management's "failure to respond to tenant notices of uninhabitable conditions in a timely manner. Those conditions include issues with plumbing fixtures, insufficient seals on doors and windows, broken and faulty boiler systems and mold.
Residents also expressed safety concerns, as there are break-in attempts and frequent car break-ins. Kelly said someone tried to kick down his door and maintenance has yet to fix it properly.
There's also transparency issues with the collective utility charges. Crum said she's currently being charged more than $150 for the community electricity bill with no breakdown of why her portion is so high.
The final issue is a need for clear communication and respect. Residents said maintenance doesn't give advance notice when entering apartments and management doesn't respond to any requests in a timely manner.
"Since The Reed apartment complex was acquired by VareCo and put under the management of Liv Lavender, residents have regularly experienced unreliable, inconsistent and disrespectful communication from management," the demand letter reads. "Reasonable requests for advance notice of entry to units so that tenants can plan to secure pets and belongings are frequently rejected or ignored. Furthermore Liv Lavender regularly uses the threat of eviction when communicating with tenants about reasonable accommodations, maintenance requests, building code violations and other concerns."
On Wednesday, Reed residents presented the letter at the leasing office of a sister property, The Iris, in Arvada.
Several current and former tenants entered the office and waited a few minutes before an employee came out to let residents their issues wouldn't be discussed at that time.
"We're not going to have any comments about anything, so you guys can talk to our management office," the employee said.
Kelly told the employee that the group was there as a union to present the letter and request a meeting with both VareCo and LivLavender by next week.
The employee accepted the letter, said they would pass it on and reiterated that no further conversation would happen that day.
Once residents left, they stood outside the complex for about two minutes decompressing and figuring out next steps.
The employee returned and told everyone to leave the property, including two Denverite journalists, because they were trespassing.
"You need to leave the property. This is private property and you're not welcome here. It's time for you to leave," the employee said.
Many residents spoke up and some said that they were paying tenants and that they were there to seek help.
"We're not starting problems here," Kelly said.
"You are starting problems," the employee responded.
"Accountability is hard," said Deb Powers, a resident, who said she had black mold in her apartment and recently decided not to renew her lease.
"OK," the employee said with a mocking tone. "You're leaving in five days."
"Thank god," Powers laughed walking away.
"Exactly, I agree. Bye bye," the employee said.
Lauren Awdziejczyk with DATU said the employee's actions and attitude were disappointing but also somewhat expected.
"We've seen what that management company has done before," Awdziejczyk said. "It wasn't necessarily that I expected that but it's within the realm of what could be possible...The disrespect and the threats that they already feel comfortable with doing at this building is disappointing."
VareCo, which owns LivLavendar, is a real estate investment firm with properties in the metro Denver-area and Des Moines. This isn't the first time tenants of a VareCo property have complained about their treatment.
In November 2021, VareCo was sued by tenants of the Summit View Inn in Aurora for wrongful eviction.
Tenants reported armed security guards demanding they leave the property immediately. Many residents told news outlets they weren't able to grab their belongings and were followed around by the guards until they left.
VareCo settled with three tenants, The Colorado Sun reported, but were then sued by an additional 18 residents in a similar claim.
Reed tenants said they hope VareCo meets with them next week as they've requested, but past reported incidents makes them worried about how their demands will be met.
In the letter the residents presented this week, they wrote that "Liv Lavender regularly uses the threat of eviction when communicating with tenants about reasonable accommodations, maintenance requests, building code violations and other concerns."
Crum said she fears that conflict will arise instead of the company making simple fixes she and others are requesting.
"I come home and I just want to cry. I don't even want to be home sometimes," Crum said. "Only thing that makes me come home is my husband, my dogs and my cats."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with the correct address for the Reed Apartments in Lakewood. A mention of an unrelated address has been removed.
