Tenants Consider Rent Strike At 5 Rogers Park Buildings After Forming Union
Tenants in five Rogers Park apartment buildings are forming a union after a developer acquired the properties and is looking to raise their rents.
The newly formed tenants union is made up of residents of properties owned by Ark Management Solutions' Imran Khan: 6642 N. Clark St., 2000 W. Fargo Ave., 7405 N. Damen Ave., 7369 N. Damen Ave. and 1605 W. Fargo Ave., Block Club Chicago reported. The union, Fuerzas Activas De La Damen, is organizing to protest rental increases of up to $500 per month in some cases.
An LLC registered to Khan purchased the building at 2000 W. Fargo Ave. in January for about $6.2M and 7405 N. Damen Ave. for $4.6M, according to Cook County property records.
Khan's affiliate also scooped up 6654 N. Clark St. for $5.9M and 7415 N. Damen Ave. for $5.3M at the same time, although those buildings don't appear to be represented by the union.
Khan priced rents at $1,400 for one-bedroom units and $1,550 for two-bedroom units, he told Block Club in a statement. Tenants' previous rents varied across buildings, but some told the outlet they paid less than $1K per month for their apartments.
Chicago rents rose 5.1% year-over-year in July, the second-fastest growth in the nation, behind Brookline, Massachusetts, according to CoStar data. The city's first-quarter multifamily sales also more than doubled the same period in 2024, according to a report from Northmarq.
The developer told Block Club that the buildings had fallen into disrepair before he acquired them and that he would cut rents for any tenant that signed a written agreement. Khan didn't immediately respond to Bisnow's request for comment.
“I currently oversee more than 300 units, and earlier this year we purchased this asset in a distressed condition,” he said in the statement. “Unfortunately, the building came with significant issues: massive leaks, deferred maintenance, and no tenant records, leases or identification information.”
The goal, Khan said, is to have formal agreements in place to bring safety and compliance to the building.
About 50 tenants and local organizers gathered on the sidewalk in front of 6642 N. Clark St. on Sunday to call on Khan to lower rents to previous levels. Activists said renters from the Rogers Park buildings could start getting evicted as soon as Sept. 1.
The union has about 150 supporters and is “open” to a rent strike, Maya Azul, an organizer for the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, told Block Club. Fuerzas Activas couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday.
The union formation comes on the heels of rent strikes by two other tenant unions in the city this year that are backed by ACTA.
The Belden Sawyer Tenant Association and Fuerzas Inquilinos de Broadway y Cuyler went on strike in March and April, respectively, to negotiate with landlord Andrew Millard and property management company 33 Realty. The tenants were still withholding rent as of last month.
