Iowa City's largest landlord, Apartments Downtown, will repay money to thousands of previous tenants. That's part of a settlement for class action lawsuit Apartments Downtown and The Iowa Tenants Project filed in court this week.

Christopher Warnock, who represents the Tenants Project, said as another part of the settlement, current and future renters would have a new complaint process they can go through if they ever have problems with their lease, or with getting something fixed.

Wil Simpson, a University of Iowa sophomore, has been renting from Apartments Downtown for just under a year. He said so far, the experience has been a smooth one.

"I haven't gone through the process of them checking out stuff and doing stuff with the deposit or anything, so I don't know how they deal with that," Simpson told us on Wednesday. "I know a couple guys down the block who rent from them, and they've never had any problems."

Warnock said it's tenants like Simpson this new agreement will protect. "If a tenant of Apartments Downtown, Apartments Near Campus, or Aparments Near Iowa has a problem that they can't resolve with the landlord, then they can come to us, the Tenants Project."

The Tenants Project would represent the renter, and Warnock said that process will be paid for by the landlord.

For about 14,000 past tenants and subtenants who rented from Apartments Downtown and Apartments Near Campus from 2010 to 2014, they'll be eligible to receive payment for damages associated with extra fees like carpet cleaning.

"Those tenants would, if the court approves the settlement, receive a 65 dollar a year payment," Warnock explained.

Apartments Downtown declined our request for an interview about the settlement on Wednesday, but a spokesperson for the company wrote in a media release, "Apartments Downtown is aiming to create a better rental culture, really appreciates their past, present and future tenants and wants Iowa City to be a renter friendly community."

Warnock said the settlement shows the company's willingness to work with tenants and improve relations with them.

"They want to make a change," Warnock said. "They're not happy with how landlord-tenant relations have been going."

Warnock said the settlement is scheduled for final approval in Johnson County court on July 18th. If you rented from Apartments Downtown or Apartments Near Campus for that 2010 to 2014 period, you're automatically included in the class action. To register to receive payment or to opt out, visit

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