Broad Management Group, a family-owned property management firm operating in at least 14 states, has resolved two significant lawsuits: a $547,500 class-action settlement in 2021 with roughly 100 former tenants of the Lake Arbor Apartments in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a $25,000 federal Fair Housing Act settlement in 2023 with a Louisiana tenant who was denied emotional support animals. In both cases, the company denied wrongdoing.
The Lake Arbor Apartments Class Action
Between 2015 and 2019, Charlotte housing inspectors documented hundreds of health and safety violations at Lake Arbor, a west Charlotte complex Broad Management Group operated on behalf of two New York-affiliated ownership entities, Lake Arbor Dean TIC LLC and Lake Arbor 80M TIC LLC.1Charlotte Journalism Collaborative / Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. With Lake Arbor About to Be Sold, Judge Backs Tenants’ Legal Request2WFAE. Lawyers for Lake Arbor Residents Explain Why They Took a Settlement3Charlotte Observer. Former Lake Arbor Apartments Tenants Receive Settlement The owners continued collecting rent throughout, conduct North Carolina law and the Charlotte housing code prohibit at premises cited for dangerous conditions.
In 2019, the NC Justice Center, the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, and the law firm Robinson Bradshaw filed a class action in Superior Court on behalf of about 100 former tenants. Lead plaintiff Serita Russell had lived at the complex for three and a half years.4The Charlotte Post. Former Lake Arbor Apartments Tenant Turns Frustration to Activism The complaint alleged violations of three state statutes:
- The Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, for collecting rent while knowingly maintaining unsafe units.
- The Unfair Debt Collections Act, for pursuing rent and fees tenants were not legally obligated to pay during cited periods.
- The Residential Rental Agreements Act, for breaching the duty to maintain habitable premises.
Rather than complete court-ordered repairs, the owners shut the complex down in 2019 and evicted all remaining tenants, with no relocation assistance offered.5Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy. Justice for Lake Arbor Tenants Subjected to Dangerous Housing Conditions
A judge gave final approval to a $547,500 settlement on March 18, 2021, covering 106 former tenants.6Robinson Bradshaw. Final Settlement Approved in Affordable Housing Class Action Each class member received 1.8 times the total rent or fees paid during the period of documented violations, with additional compensation for tenants sent collection notices.7WBTV. Judge Gives Final Approval of Settlement Against Charlotte Apartment Complex Over Unsafe Conditions The defendants — Lake Arbor Dean TIC LLC, Lake Arbor 80M TIC LLC, Broad Management Group, and co-defendant Wellington Advisors LLC — denied all allegations.5Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy. Justice for Lake Arbor Tenants Subjected to Dangerous Housing Conditions
The Louisiana Fair Housing Case
In a separate federal action, the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center sued Broad Management Group and property manager Cristina Perez under the Fair Housing Act. The complaint alleged that Perez denied a tenant’s reasonable accommodation request to keep two prescribed emotional support animals, citing the property’s breed and size restrictions — restrictions the advocacy organization argued federal law overrides for assistance animals.8Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center. Settlement With Broad Management Group and Cristina Perez
The suit also alleged that the defendants evicted the tenant in retaliation for the request and then filed a separate state-court action against her while the federal case was pending.
The case settled on August 4, 2023. Broad Management Group and Perez agreed to pay $25,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees, adopt a written non-discrimination policy with specific provisions on emotional support animals, require fair housing training for all employees involved in operating the company’s Louisiana residential properties, and dismiss the state-court lawsuit against the tenant.8Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center. Settlement With Broad Management Group and Cristina Perez
Ongoing Tenant Complaints
Broad Management Group’s portfolio includes roughly 52 communities and more than 7,500 units across states including Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and the Carolinas.9Apartments.com. Broad Management Profile Its Better Business Bureau profile lists 17 complaints filed over a three-year period, 16 of which the company did not answer through the BBB’s dispute process. The complaints echo themes from the Lake Arbor case: prolonged lack of hot water, broken appliances and HVAC, mold, pest infestations, and difficulty reaching corporate management. Tenants have also reported aggressive lease-renewal tactics, unexpected rent increases, and steep move-out charges assessed without inspections.10Better Business Bureau. Broad Management Group BBB Complaints The company is not BBB-accredited.