Tenants in low-income and affordable housing across the country are no longer staying silent about dangerous living conditions.
In an unprecedented move, residents in six states have unionized more than 1,500 housing units, many of them owned by one of the largest private equity landlords in the country.
Capital Realty Group, which owns over 14,000 units nationwide and receives millions in taxpayer money through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is now at the center of a growing nationwide tenant union movement, according to a January 2026 video report by More Perfect Union.
Residents say they’ve endured years of neglect, including mold, broken elevators, busted heating and cooling systems, and rodent infestations, according to reporting by The Denver Post.
Golden Spike Tenants Demand Action
Residents from Missouri, Montana, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, and Colorado have organized what is now the largest portfolio tenant union in U.S. history.
The campaign has drawn attention not just for its scale but for the pushback it has received from the landlord.
“We need a voice,” said Stella Thompson, a resident of the Golden Spike Apartments in Denver, where tenants have dealt with bedbugs, black mold and repeated hot water outages.
“If you don’t have no voice, you’re gonna get run over by management.”
Golden Spike, a 200-unit building serving elderly and disabled residents, was purchased by Capital Realty in July 2025.
Just months later, residents began organizing, frustrated by worsening conditions.
Between January 2024 and February 2025, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment fined the building’s owner over $40,000 for violations, making it one of the city’s most-cited properties.
Landlord Pushback and Alleged Intimidation
But instead of collaborating, organizers say the landlord retaliated. The company allegedly hired a law firm known for its union-busting strategies and created a fake, management-friendly tenant group to confuse and divide residents.
Union members say their flyers were torn down, meetings were disrupted, and access to common rooms was blocked.
At a protest outside Capital Realty’s office in New York on Dec. 8, organizers say hired counterprotesters showed up waving Israeli flags and holding signs unrelated to the tenants’ cause.
Many of them, who did not speak English, told a Spanish interpreter they had no idea why they were there. One man became violent and was arrested after physically attacking at least two tenants.
“This is the craziest [expletive] I’ve ever seen,” said Eida Altman, director of the Denver Metro Tenants Union. “It’s surreal.”
Capital Realty denies it hired anyone to interfere with union activities and insists that the rival tenant unions at its properties were formed independently by residents.
However, a property manager at Golden Spike admitted in a recorded meeting that the company had created the rival group, according to The Denver Post.
Similar Struggles in Other States
Tenants in other cities are facing similar challenges. In New London, Connecticut, Alpha Capital has tried to raise rents from $1,100 to $2,000 per month and has allegedly sent eviction notices to long-time residents in favor of attracting “young professionals.”
A local reporter also found that Alpha employees posed as tenants to submit testimony opposing a state bill that would have banned no-cause evictions.
Since September, the Connecticut Tenants Union has organized a quarter of Alpha’s 400-unit portfolio.
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, tenants under landlord Jason Ostro have also formed a union after reporting delayed repairs, mold, and harassment from staff.
Organizers say Ostro makes about $3.5 million a year in rent from six buildings across the state. The Kentucky Tenant Union has already unionized two properties since June 2025, including some in rural Appalachia.
No National Oversight for Tenant Unions
“This is cookie-cutter labor union-busting,” said Hannah Srajer, president of the Connecticut Tenants Union. “This is copy and paste.”
Tenant unions, unlike labor unions, don’t have a national body like the National Labor Relations Board to oversee disputes or certify groups. That means landlords often act without consequences.
“There is no umpire calling balls or strikes,” said Altman. “Who’s gonna stop them?”
Momentum Builds Despite Resistance
Despite the opposition, tenant organizers say their efforts are gaining ground.
On the same day tenants were allegedly assaulted at the New York protest, 200 more units unionized in Denver.
Residents say that while they haven’t yet won formal recognition or contracts, they are building momentum.
“They looked like fools,” Thompson said of the counterprotesters. “That was a win for us. Even though we didn’t get a contract, I feel like we still won.”
As corporate landlords continue to expand their grip on the housing market, tenants in cities and rural towns alike are showing they’re not backing down.