Kentucky Tenant Union

Kentucky Tenant Union The Kentucky Tenant Union (KTU) is a tenant-led organization building tenant power across KY!

Kentucky renters 'make history' with bargained lease. What that means:
03/13/2026

Kentucky renters 'make history' with bargained lease. What that means:

VICTORY: FIRST TENANT-BARGAINED AGREEMENT IN THE SOUTH Today Ridgeway Park Tenant Union and Maple Grove Tenant Union, ch...
03/10/2026

VICTORY: FIRST TENANT-BARGAINED AGREEMENT IN THE SOUTH

Today Ridgeway Park Tenant Union and Maple Grove Tenant Union, chapters of the Kentucky Tenant Union, bargained with their shared landlord, Jason Ostro, who owns a Texas-based corporation.

After three hours of negotiations, the parties signed an agreement that recognizes the tenant union (and all future unions in Ostro’s portfolio), protects tenants’ leases, introduces a 10-day grace period for rent payments, establishes a schedule for major repairs including mold remediation, and more.

This is the first tenant-bargained agreement in the state of Kentucky and in the south. This is also the first example of tenant collective bargaining in HUD properties in recent history.

Today’s bargaining follows almost a year of organizing in rural Kentucky. Tenants launched a union at Maple Grove in Brandenburg on June 11, 2025, representing 60% of the residents at their 55-unit building, and the union launched at Ridgeway Park in Flemingsburg on July 11, representing 50% of their 60-unit building.

Tenants organized after dealing with flooding, AC and heat outages, brown recluse infestations, and mold. The landlord retaliated with lease violations and the property managers threatened and even assaulted tenants. Today the tenants reset their relationship to their landlord and their homes.

“This is the beginning of a new beginning,” said Mary Lou Abner, VP of Ridgeway Tenant Union. “We made history today— for us, for our neighbors, for the South. And we ain’t done yet.”

Charles Booker is the first U.S. Senate candidate to accept the Tenant Union pledge.The housing crisis isn’t an accident...
03/09/2026

Charles Booker is the first U.S. Senate candidate to accept the Tenant Union pledge.

The housing crisis isn’t an accident. It’s the result of decades of political decisions that put profit over people. We don't need to settle for status-quo politicians who are bought by corporate and developer interests.

That’s why we launched the Tenant Union pledge, to educate tenants about which candidates have their back.

The Tenant Union pledge is the following:

👉🏽 I pledge to advance policies that move housing from commodity to human right.
👉🏽 I pledge my commitment to eradicating homelessness once and for all.
👉🏽 I pledge to design housing policies as racial and climate justice interventions.
👉🏽 I pledge to increase investment in public and social housing.
👉🏽 I pledge to support universal rent control policies.
👉🏽 I pledge to support the rights of tenants to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
👉🏽 I pledge to reject any developer and real estate contributions that my campaign may be offered, and to return any developer and real estate money that I have already taken.
👉🏽 I pledge to advance the policy agenda of unionized tenants (ex: talk about it at forums and town halls, include in canvassing scripts, arrange meetings with local tenant unions to grow my own understanding, proudly display my support for unionized tenants on my website and other campaign materials, etc.)
👉🏽 I pledge to run a campaign that is accountable to a local base of unionized tenants, and to meet with a team of unionized tenants within 60 days of victory.

03/05/2026

Capital Realty Group (CRG) is one of the largest recipients of taxpayer dollars in the country. In 2024, less than 10% of that money went toward maintenance at American Village.

After years of neglect, tenants organized the American Village Tenants Union and forced CRG to finally invest thousands of dollars back into the property, money that should have been spent there all along.

Cosmetic fixes are not enough.

The problems at American Village run deeper, and tenants know exactly what needs to be done. They have already put together a list of the issues and real solutions.

Trust the people who live here.

Stop wasting taxpayer dollars and tenants time on surface level repairs that fall apart weeks later.

Building on a cracked foundation won’t end well for tenants or for CRG.

Help us, help you!

Tenants are ready to meet and negotiate real solutions.

Moshe Eichler of Capital Reality Group stop the retaliation and come to the damn bargaining table!

We won’t back down until our demands are heard. We will fight like our lives depend on it, because they do.

Our first Lexington-Fayette county council candidate to sign the tenant union pledge, Mr. Herbert Lynn knows what we kno...
02/27/2026

Our first Lexington-Fayette county council candidate to sign the tenant union pledge, Mr. Herbert Lynn knows what we know: you cannot serve both money and people.

👉🏼 Rent prices have skyrocketed.
👉🏼 Home ownership is a pipe dream.
👉🏼 Our bills are rising faster than our paychecks

As a member of Bluegrass DSA and an advocate for working families, unions, public schools, immigrants, and LGBTQIA+ neighbors, Mr. Lynn is committing to put tenants at the center of local policy.

"I am running because your voice needs to be heard in city hall. I am running because I understand the struggles that working families face. I am running because regular people need a seat at the table, and that’s exactly what I’ll deliver." - Herbert Lynn

Tenants need fighters in Kentucky who will champion tenant stability and usher in a new era of housing stability. It's been time for the pro-tenant electeds to fill seats in Kentucky!

The Tenant Union pledge is the following:

👉🏽I pledge to advance policies that move housing from commodity to human right.
👉🏽I pledge my commitment to eradicating homelessness once and for all.
👉🏽I pledge to design housing policies as racial and climate justice interventions.
👉🏽I pledge to increase investment in public and social housing.
👉🏽I pledge to support universal rent control policies.
👉🏽I pledge to support the rights of tenants to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
👉🏽I pledge to reject any developer and real estate contributions that my campaign may be offered, and to return any developer and real estate money that I have already taken.
👉🏽I pledge to advance the policy agenda of unionized tenants (ex: talk about it at forums and town halls, include in canvassing scripts, arrange meetings with local tenant unions to grow my own understanding, proudly display my support for unionized tenants on my website and other campaign materials, etc.)
👉🏽I pledge to run a campaign that is accountable to a local base of unionized tenants, and to meet with a team of unionized tenants within 60 days of victory.

9. Never Count Tenants Out
02/26/2026

9. Never Count Tenants Out

Our government is in business with our landlords and nearly ALL our political candidates in KY are funded by real estate...
02/18/2026

Our government is in business with our landlords and nearly ALL our political candidates in KY are funded by real estate money. The real estate industry is one of the biggest lobbies in Frankfort every year. The truth is that you cannot take developer money and not fall under developer influence. You cannot serve both money and people. It’s time to pick a side.

To help with this, we launched our KTU candidate pledge to educate Kentucky renters about where candidates stand on housing. Tenants need fighters in Kentucky who will champion tenant stability and usher in a new era of housing stability. With record homelessness, unaffordability, and coordinated rent gouging rampant in the rental market, it’s high time for the pro-tenant electeds to fill seats in Kentucky!

Our pledge is the following:
👉🏽I pledge to advance policies that move housing from commodity to human right.
👉🏽I pledge my commitment to eradicating homelessness once and for all.
👉🏽I pledge to design housing policies as racial and climate justice interventions.
👉🏽I pledge to increase investment in public and social housing.
👉🏽I pledge to support universal rent control policies.
👉🏽I pledge to support the rights of tenants to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
👉🏽I pledge to reject any developer and real estate contributions that my campaign may be offered, and to return any developer and real estate money that I have already taken.
👉🏽I pledge to advance the policy agenda of unionized tenants (ex: talk about it at forums and town halls, include in canvassing scripts, arrange meetings with local tenant unions to grow my own understanding, proudly display my support for unionized tenants on my website and other campaign materials, etc.)
👉🏽I pledge to run a campaign that is accountable to a local base of unionized tenants, and to meet with a team of unionized tenants within 60 days of victory.

May this Fire Horse Year move you towards the people and path that feel like home. 🧧
02/17/2026

May this Fire Horse Year move you towards the people and path that feel like home. 🧧

KTU’s policy team hit the streets in Meade County, cold be damned!! 🥶Nearly half the county rents, yet there’s no city c...
02/02/2026

KTU’s policy team hit the streets in Meade County, cold be damned!! 🥶

Nearly half the county rents, yet there’s no city code inspector. The mayor says renters aren’t having problems so there's no need for a code inspector. We say talk to the tenants.

01/29/2026

Reality check: every city has a CEO. Do you know who it is? 🤔

Power analysis dropping soon ☕️

This week, tenants at American Village (AV) braced Winter Storm Fern with trash piled up on their floors. Management fai...
01/28/2026

This week, tenants at American Village (AV) braced Winter Storm Fern with trash piled up on their floors. Management failed to clear the garbage chute on Friday, January 23rd, well before the storm hit. The property manager’s solution? Have tenants either drag rotting trash back into their apartments or risk slipping on unsalted, icy paths to the dumpster because management couldn’t be bothered to do their job.

At the same time, some AV tenants were left to weather the storm without working heat, a direct result of Capital Realty Group’s (CRG) habit of prioritizing cosmetic patches over life sustaining infrastructure repairs. 🥶

Just last week, a mold inspector confirmed what tenants have been saying all along: it smells musty because it is. There is visible microbial growth which CRG owner Moshe Eichler attempted to conceal with sealing primer (kilz) instead of real mold remediation.

Instead of fixing root problems, CRG keeps slapping lipstick on a pig, hoping HUD will look the other way as long as things look fine. 💄

But here’s what CRG didn’t plan for: a ruthless tenant union that refuses to be manipulated!

The American Village Tenants Union launched in late August as part of a national campaign against CRG. In just five months, tenants have already forced thousands of dollars in so-called “repairs” after years of neglect. In November, AV tenants invited Representative Morgan McGarvey to tour the building. After speaking directly with union members and seeing conditions firsthand, McGarvey sent a letter to HUD requesting an investigation into CRG for violating HUD regulations.

Capital Realty Group is betting that appearances will keep HUD money flowing.

The American Village Tenants Union has other plans.

The fight for dignified living is just beginning. Stay tuned. 🔥

Address

Louisville, KY

Telephone

+15024389048

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kentucky Tenant Union posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Kentucky Tenant Union:

Shortcuts

Share

Category