AG Campbell meets with Springfield Gardens tenants to address $10M settlement

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell was in Springfield Tuesday to meet with tenants of the former Springfield Gardens. The housing complex was involved in a $10 million dollar settlement that her office reached with the building's landlords, New Jersey-based real estate company, Schweb Partners LLC, for significant housing violations.

Campbell’s office found that Schweb regularly failed to make or improperly delayed adequate repairs in response to tenant reports regarding unsafe and unsanitary conditions including persistent water leaks, mold, collapsed ceilings, pest infestations, lack of heat and hot water, unsecure exterior doors, fire safety concerns, and other issues often persisting for weeks, months, or even years.

The AG’s office said throughout the duration of its ownership, Schweb received at least 26,000 tenant complaints regarding such conditions across its properties, many of which were ignored, inadequately addressed, or improperly delayed.

Schweb Partners LLC will pay the state $2.5 million and forgive $7.5 million in alleged unpaid rent for impacted tenants.

Campbell said the case affected her personally as someone who lived in public housing.

"I'm not just an AG, I'm a mom of two beautiful boys and you hear the stories that these tenants had to deal with. Absolutely unacceptable. And there still are issues that we still have to address,” Campbell said. “No family right now should be going without heat. No child should be unsafe in their home. How can they then thrive and prosper at school if they don't have a safe place to live?"

Katie Talbot is one of the key organizers at Springfield No One Leaves who helped rally neighbors to file complaints with the AG’s office about tenant concerns. She said this settlement is a win.

“It's exciting to watch tenant organizing and tenant power win. It's just been a crazy uphill battle. And this is a win,” Talbot said. “It's a win for the tenants that had to live through Springfield Gardens, but also for all tenants in the state of Massachusetts that they can never own property again. It's huge. It's why we do this work. Like those little droplets of hope. It feels really good.”

Officials from Campbell's office said they were prompted to update the state's tenant rights guide because of this case. The guide is meant to help tenants and landlords understand their legal rights and responsibilities.