After tenants’ unions formed at two low-income public housing apartment buildings in Colorado Springs, residents of a privately held, market-rate complex in the city have recruited more than half of the estimated 120 occupied units to sign a union card in seeking change.

Tenants of Aviator Apartment Homes at 1670 N. Murray Blvd., say their building has unsafe living conditions, and they want something done.

At a rally on Sunday in front of the property, some renters read their complaints.

Brandy Carlson said the unit where she lives with her son, mother and nephew has a broken front door that doesn’t shut properly, a structurally unsafe balcony, decaying wall outlets, mold under the carpet and an inoperable freezer.

“When you put in a work order, they send a maintenance person to look at it, but they don’t fix it,” she told a group of about 40 renters who rallied to call for improved living conditions.

“None of us are getting what we are paying for,” Carlson said. “I pay rent to live in a safe home. I deserve to live in a safe home.”

Another tenant, Alice Stevens, said she, her daughter and three grandchildren pay $1,300 a month for an apartment that has had heating and air conditioning problems, leaking pipes, unfunctional electrical outlets, broken smoke alarms, mold and pre-existing broken windows.

“What’s happening is not right,” she said.

The complex’s landlord, Life Bridge Capital of Roanoke, Va., said in a statement sent Monday to a Gazette request for comments, “Aviator Apartments is operated in accordance with Colorado habitability law, local code requirements and the terms of each resident’s lease.”

Issues residents want resolved include fixing the heating system, repairing leaking roofs, hiring more maintenance staff, exterminating roaches and other pests, installing security cameras in areas such as parking lots and hallways, repairing the swimming pool or stop charging residents for it, reinstalling a playground and “lowering the rent to what it’s advertised for and cap increases at 5% over two years.”

Life Bridge Capital said it is not providing interviews about the topic.

“When residents have maintenance concerns, they are encouraged to submit a work order through the standard process so the onsite team can address them in the normal course,” according to the company’s statement.

The property was inspected by the city of Colorado Springs this year, the landlord said.

Furthermore, “We respect residents’ right to gather and share their views, but we are not entering into collective bargaining or recognizing any third-party organization as the exclusive representative of all tenants,” Life Bridge said.

The real estate investment firm raises capital and sources deals, providing “opportunities to invest in strategically targeted multifamily properties,” according to its website.

Declining to schedule negotiations will result in tenants “putting more pressure on the company” to hear what tenants have to say, said Max Kronstadt, a founder of Colorado Springs Pro-Housing Partnership, a nonprofit organization that advocates for housing rights and affordability.

Residents of 70 of the estimated 120 occupied units in four buildings that make up the Aviator Apartment Homes agreed to allow the new tenants’ union to represent them in negotiating lease terms through collective bargaining, he said.

Under its citywide initiative called Colorado Springs Tenants, the organization has assisted renters with forming a union at Aviator Apartment Homes as well as two subsidized housing complexes, Acacia Park Apartments and Centennial Plaza Apartments.

While tenants’ unions do not have the same legal standing as labor unions, they bring a collective voice to the table to affect change, Kronstadt said.

Residents at Acacia Park Apartments successfully got management to address an infestation of mice, for example, and Centennial Plaza Apartments residents have seen security improvements and greater handicapped accessibility, he said.

Acacia Park Apartments are downtown off Platte Avenue and Tejon Street; Centennial Plaza Apartments are just east of downtown on Kiowa Street.

The Colorado Springs Housing Authority, which administers and manages the local low-income housing voucher program for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, has agreed to meet with the tenants’ union to discuss their desire to negotiate new lease terms.

Aviator resident Ben Colby said he’s had to choose between safe living standards and rent prices in Colorado Springs.

“Soon I’ll be priced out of Aviator and have to live even somewhere worse than the high rent I pay for now,” he said at the rally. “At Aviator we’re experiencing maintenance issues not getting responded to for weeks, months or even years. We don’t just have to accept these conditions.”