09/14/2026
From the article:
A group of passionate residents continue to advocate for better living conditions for those who live in the Maple Grove apartments located in Brandenburg. With the list of health and safety concerns continuing to grow without any resolve, the tenants have resorted to forming a union in desperation to be heard and hold those responsible accountable.
The apartment complex was sold to an out-of-state investor in 2021-2022. Jason Ostro of Ostro Property Management (OSPM) is headquartered in Texas. Ostro currently owns at least six properties in Kentucky, all of which have reports of harassment, mold, water leaks, flooding, trash build-up, and in some cases, all of those concerns.
The Maple Grove Apartments in Brandenburg are part of the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) program, meaning Ostro receives federal aid to run and manage housing for low-income individuals and families. The aim of HUD housing is to provide sustainable and comfortable living conditions for those that may find themselves in need of extra help. Many of the residents that live at Maple Grove pay for their electric and rely on OSPM to pay for their water, rent, and other necessities via the HUD program; however, the living conditions have been concerning since the ownership switch over four years ago. OSPM-owned HUD housing in other cities in Kentucky have experienced payment issues on behalf of their residents resulting in the city government of those communities taking Ostro to court after persistently attempting to contact him to express their concerns.
Residents at the Maple Grove apartments have spent the past few years desperately pleading with their constantly rotating building managers, Ostro himself, the Health Department, the City of Brandenburg, and the higher ups at HUD itself. Without viable solutions, the residents came together to find a different solution.
Last summer, the residents were approached by members of the Louisville Tenant Union. The Louisville Tenant Union were campaigning against their landlord who they mistakenly thought owned the Maple Grove apartments as well. Despite the landlords being two different people, the Louisville Tenant Union was familiar with Ostro's horrific ownership and encouraged the residents to take a stand and advocate for their health and safety.
Many residents were on board hoping that the official organization would be enough to get Ostro's attention finally. The Louisville Tenant Union was then renamed the Kentucky Tenant Union (KTU), and other chapters of tenant unions quickly joined the organization. Maple Grove of Brandenburg tenant union officially launched June 11th, 2025.
Since then, the residents part of the union have appointed Kimberly Barr and Heather Myatt of Brandenburg as the Vice Presidents that lead regular meetings to discuss the changes they wish to see.
The union was also granted a temporary restraining order by a judge in Louisville that covered Regency Park in Louisville, Maple Grove in Brandenburg, and Ridgeway Park in Flemingsburg. The restraining order was a form of protection for the unions that stated owners could not retaliate against tenants apart of the unions just for being in the union.
"This has caused people to not want to work with us. This has been one of the City Council's biggest things. They would tell me they can't do anything because we have a lawsuit. It is not a lawsuit. It is a restraining order. It is just there to protect us. There is no money and we aren't suing anything," Kimberly Barr stated.
After months of attempting to reach Ostro to schedule a meeting, the Maple Grove Tenant Union, along with other members from other chapters, finally obtained a meeting in person. With a lawyer present, the goal of the meeting was to share their living conditions, struggles, and the list of changes the Union agreed was the most important to address. In the contract, it stated that Ostro would fix the current issues such as leaking roofs, mold, pest control, along with many other concerns. The contract also stated that each issue is resolved in a timely manner, and any other grievances would be addressed and no longer ignored by Ostro. Failure to respond to tenant grievances or breach in contract would result in payment of $250 per month per breach.
In return, the Tenant Union would drop the restraining order against OSPM and report all grievances in order of chain of command before claiming a breach of contract. All parties signed the contract with a lawyer present. However, the in person meeting and signing of a legal document was not enough to push change for the residents.
Four dumpsters for all 56 units have sat for months without any trash removal. All of those dumpsters are still over-flowing, mold is still grow-ing, AC units are failing, and conditions continue to decline despite the resident's outcries. Barr and others have spent many hours at Brandenburg City Council meetings to attempt to get the city to hire code enforcement or find a different way to put pressure on Ostro at a city level.
Beyond local city and county officials, the residents of Maple Grove have also reached out to Governor Andy Barr, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Brett Gutherie. While they are all willing to send something to HUD on the tenant's behalf, the tenants feel at a loss knowing that HUD does not seem to be holding OSPM accountable.
Rosa Smith, a resident at Maple Grove Apartments, states that it feels like a big circle, and they keep going around and around. "We are not just fighting for ourselves; we are fighting for our future generations. We don't want them to live like we are living," Smith explains.
