Correspondent photo / Sean Barron The Rev. Jeff Stanford, the Alliance for the Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods’ lead organizer, with bullhorn, gathers protesters for Wednesday’s Day of Action event to hold a landlord who owns hundreds of city properties accountable for what they say is a failure to make necessary repairs.

YOUNGSTOWN — A determined and diverse group of citizens is demanding the owner of hundreds of rental properties scattered throughout the city take steps to make major improvements.

“No one deserves this; no one deserves to live in deplorable conditions,” Jack Daugherty, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp’s neighborhood stabilization director, said.

Daugherty was referring to city residents who live in rental homes and properties that Youngstown Houses LLC and its management company, Allstate Properties Management, own that he and others contend have been neglected and are in poor condition. Compounding the problem is the owner has failed to take steps to make necessary repairs, he said.

As a result, the YNDC, the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods (ACTION) organization, the Youngstown Housing Task Force and others joined forces to organize a Day of Action gathering Wednesday afternoon to protest the situation.

An estimated 100 elected officials, community and religious leaders and citizens boarded two chartered buses that took them from the Neighborhood Action Center, 1810 Volney Road, on the South Side, to Allstate Property Management’s offices in the 800 block of Midlothian Boulevard. The primary goal was to have Allstate sign a community agreement with the task force to remedy the violations and make needed repairs to the properties.

About two years ago, an out-of-town landlord affiliated with Youngstown Houses LLC bought 304 homes in the city, but since then, more than 90 of the properties have accrued outstanding code violations, according to the task force. A large cluster of the homes are on Boston, East Philadelphia, East Auburndale, East Lucius and East Ravenwood avenues, according to the agreement.

In addition, Youngstown Housing Task Force members say they have tried on several occasions to contact Allstate to correct the problem, but have been ignored.

Ian Beniston, YNDC’s executive director, and two others entered the building, which also is an apartment complex, to have Allstate officials sign the agreement, but a sign informed them that the business was closed until 6:30 p.m. As a result, he and the others peacefully protested for nearly an hour in front of the company’s office and chanted, “Youngstown Houses, fix your houses,” “Allstate Properties, manage your properties” and “Action, action, we want action!”

While in the building, a few residents told Beniston they have issues with their units, though they weren’t specific, he said.

Beniston was unable to definitively identify the landlord or where the person lives. He did say, however, the landlord also owns properties in East Cleveland, Memphis, Tennessee, and Evansville, Indiana, with similar problems in those cities. Evansville officials have filed suit against the person, Beniston said.

David Redig of the task force said complaints have included a lack of heat from a resident last October, along with water in basements, mold, leaky roofs and torn gutters.

Some residents have seen their rent double in a year, yet nothing has been done to correct problems in their homes, Redig said. He added that some renters are elderly and have disabilities.

“They’re not getting the answers they need,” he said.

The derelict properties and dilapidated homes not only affect residents’ quality of life, they adversely impact neighborhoods by adding to blight. The situation also has created a ripple effect because some residents are on fixed incomes, have gotten sick from black mold and are afraid to speak out, fearing the landlord may impose retaliatory rent increases, the task force has said.

Nevertheless, when Youngstown Houses LLC acquired the properties, the business faced key challenges, most notably a significant delinquency in rental payments that exceeded $100,000, Maria Hernandez, Youngstown Housing’s owner’s representative, said in an email Thursday.

The previous landlord had chosen not to pursue evictions for nonpayment, resulting in below-market rental and average living conditions, the email states.

After acquiring the properties, Youngstown Houses LLC took immediate steps to make extensive renovations to the homes, then adjusted rents to market rates after issuing 30-day notices to affected tenants, Hernandez said.

“It’s important to clarify that prior to the rent adjustments, we had not received formal complaints or work orders regarding living conditions. Had issues been brought to our attention, we would have promptly addressed them,” she added.

According to the email, the decision to increase rents was fueled largely by inflation, along with higher insurance costs and property taxes.

In addition, evictions were conducted “only after extensive communication attempts and when tenants accumulated significant arrears, typically exceeding $5,000,” Hernandez said, adding that such moves were in lockstep with legal protocols.

Despite failing to meet with Allstate Property Management, Wednesday’s action is just the start of efforts to get Allstate to agree to correct the citywide problem, Daugherty said.

“This is just the beginning. We will not stop,” he said.

Other possible moves that were suggested Wednesday if Allstate fails to comply with the agreement include conducting a further investigation of the landlord, taking legal action, placing some of the properties in receivership and having residents work with Community Legal Aid to place their rent payments in an escrow account.

Community agreement

This is a list of demands the Youngstown Housing Task Force is trying to get Allstate Property Management, the management company of more than 300 city properties, to sign:

• Provide a name and working phone number for Youngstown Houses LLC’s owner and Allstate’s manager so the task force can effectively communicate with both of them.

• Register all unregistered rental and vacant housing units they own with the city by Aug. 10, and provide documentation to the task force.

• Work with city officials to complete all pending and outstanding rental inspections on residential rental properties Youngstown Houses LLC owns by Oct. 10.

• Bring code enforcement cases on about 90 city properties into full compliance with the city’s property maintenance code no later than Feb. 14, 2025.

• Respond by Aug. 10 to all outstanding tenant maintenance requests, then provide the task force with a written list of such requests that have been resolved at the end of a 30-day period.

• Provide to tenants professional communication in writing, along with receipts upon payment of rent.

• Cease acquiring and managing additional properties within Youngstown and Mahoning County until issues outlined in the agreement have been resolved and documented.

• Meet with the task force every three months at the Neighborhood Action Center, 1810 Volney Road, on the South Side, until all terms of the agreement have been satisfied.

Source: Youngstown Housing Task Force