Rents ratchet up as national landlord takes over Easthampton apartment complex
Source: MassLive | By Dave Canton | [email protected]
Published: Feb. 02, 2025, 7:36 p.m. | Updated: Feb. 03, 2025, 2:15 a.m.
EASTHAMPTON — Many renters at the Pleasant View apartments in Easthampton are outraged, confused and scared after the new ownership of the complex used what tenants feel are coercive tactics to force them to sign new leases with a 35% rent increase or face eviction.
If tenants did not want to sign the new lease, they would face a 55% rent hike until the legal process plays out and they were kicked out, they said in interviews.
The 33-unit complex on Easthampton’s Nashawannuck Street had become home for a growing number of people — retirees, young families and working people — thanks to its low rents, proximity to Nashawannuck Pond and being near funky, artsy downtown Easthampton.
The complex was sold in the fall to Rowin Capital in New York City. The Easthampton property was re-registered with the Secretary of State’s office as Pleasant View Residence LLC. Rowin Capital is controlled by brothers Daniel and Joseph Scherban, who also purchased a Great Barrington apartment complex not long before the Pleasant View LLC acquisition.
