In victory for tenants, Progress Residential sells 345 single family homes in Twin Cities to non-profits

The private equity firm Pretium Partners, which owns single family rental landlord Progress Residential, recently sold 345 single-family homes in Minneapolis-St. Paul to two non-profits that have committed not to displace current residents who are in good standing. The non-profits will either maintain them as rental properties for the current tenants or sell them to the current renters, if possible, after renovation. Vacant homes will be sold at around 70% of the area median price to low-to-moderate income buyers, making the homes affordable to homebuyers for whom homeownership is typically out of reach. 

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project and Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia/United Renters for Justice released a report in 2023 which calculated that Pretium had extracted more than $40 million in wealth through purchasing more than 220 single family homes in the historically Black neighborhood of North Minneapolis. Pretium removed opportunities for working families by buying up starter homes, forcing tenants to pay rent rather than building equity. Furthermore, when the homes doubled in value, Pretium benefitted rather than community members“Our goal is to provide stable housing and good quality homes that lead to multi-generational wealth-building,” said the CEO of one of the non-profits, Brick by Brick (B3). “Community reinvestment efforts, like the fix-ups these rental and sale properties will receive, have long-lasting block-by-block benefits. We break down barriers and build wealth that only homeownership can provide.” 

Pretium operates through its affiliate Progress Residential, which owns over 100,000 single family rental (SFR) homes, making it the largest SFR owner in the U.S.  The non-profits involved in the Minnesota purchase intend to expand this effort to other states. “This sale of single-family homes to local nonprofits will improve the lives of current residents and new homebuyers. This is a new model we will replicate in other regions of the country, with local partners.”

This is the latest victory for Progress Residential tenants in North Minneapolis who have been organizing for several years with Inquilinxs Unidxs for safe and dignified housing after going without necessary repairs for issues related to lead paint, black mold, pest infestations, flooding, and electrical hazards. 

Last year, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced  a settlement with Progress for his 2022 lawsuit, which alleged that Progress violated Minnesota consumer protection law by “systematically misrepresenting its property-repair practices and keeping its properties uninhabitable for tenants.” The widespread habitability issues included tenants repeatedly losing heat and hot water, water leaks, haphazard fixes, mold, and severe pest infestations. 

Under the terms of the settlement, Progress will put $2.2 million into a restitution fund held for the benefit of current and former tenants and will forgive rental debt owed by former Minnesota tenants up to a cap of almost $2 million. A third part of the agreement was Progress Residential’s plans to transfer their properties to affordable housing entities. 

However, it could not have happened without tenacious advocacy from the tenant movement, namely Inquilinxs Unidxs. After years of tireless organizing, “tenants have won monetary compensation, a one-year rent freeze, repairs, the power to choose how and where to receive utilities, and the opportunity to move into renovated Progress Residential homes. The City of Minneapolis even passed a list of agreements that the landlord managed by Progress Residential signed in order to operate in the City of Minneapolis.”