Landlord pays price for putting off Legal Aid clients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Minneapolis, Minn.) — To the tune of $49,500 and then some, corporate landlord Quadrel Realty must pay tenants for effectively ghosting them in court proceedings and in promises made to improve housing conditions.

Thanks to a Minnesota law, on the books as of January 2025, a group of Minneapolis renters organized as the Brentwood Tenants Union. Represented by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, they initially sought emergency relief for enduring heating outages during the coldest stretches of the 2024-25 winter season, before finally reaching an agreement for improvements with the landlord last fall.

“But soon after, Quadrel and its lawyer largely lost touch with our office and our clients,” says Legal Aid Attorney Julia Zwak. “We took them to court in December to enforce our agreement. They showed up an hour late. In January, when they again failed to meet the terms of the agreement, we filed an affidavit of noncompliance. This month, at our request, the Court imposed fines. To our knowledge, this is the largest fine ever awarded to a Tenants Union in Hennepin County Housing Court.”

According to the Court Order, all fines are payable to the Brentwood Tenants Union and additional fines will continue to accrue until the landlord fulfills its obligations.

However, BTU President Emery Brush calls the Court’s award, “A win but not a victory. The harsh reality of legal action is that it takes time. While we have been waiting, the building continues to fall into disrepair. Neighbors are awaiting rent credit owed from the original settlement. Others still face heating issues, and sanitary and safety conditions at the property have been terrible. We can do everything right but are still waiting for financial relief. Don’t get me wrong, we are grateful the law is on our side and hope others in our situation can learn from our ordeal.”

Lead attorney, Sarah Pederson, says Legal Aid will continue to stand with the Brentwood Tenants Union and hold Quadrel to its obligations under law. “Awarding a large and continuously accruing fine to BTU is vindication and affirmation that these unionization efforts and the new law supporting them are effective. The message is clear. A landlord cannot continually ignore its legal obligations under a bargained-for agreement with impunity.”

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Media Contact:
Lisa Ramirez
Communications Director
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
lramirez@mylegalaid.org
612.746-3641