HAMDEN — Sameed Iqbal is afraid he and his family will be homeless next month.

The Hamden resident recalled how that possibility took shape one day this summer, when he came home to find a notice on his apartment door.

If Iqbal was going to keep living in the unit, he and his family would have to pay more rent effective Oct. 1. Up 75 percent from what their current rate, the new rate would be $3,500 a month, a $1,500 increase, according to the notice, which Iqbal shared with the New Haven Register.

Suddenly, Iqbal, who said works as an auditor for an accounting firm and lives with his parents, brother, sister-in-law and young niece, was uncertain about where the family would sleep come October.

A comparison between the address listed in the notice and Hamden's online property map show Iqbal resides in a unit owned by Seramonte CT LLC.

He is one of at least a dozen residents of the company's properties near Dixwell and Mix avenues who have filed complaints accusing their landlord of unfairly raising rent, according to records supplied by the town and the Seramonte Tenants Union, which has helped organize the complainants.

Their recourse for relief is through the town's Fair Rent Commission, which met Wednesday for the first time since 2019 and will hold four hearings Sept. 15.

Some of the complaints specifically name Seramonte CT LLC, while others list variations of "Seramonte" in the landlord section.

For reasons that are unclear, the notice Iqbal received is labeled as coming from Seramonte Estates LLC, which online town property records show previously owned the mammoth housing complex.

Iqbal faces the starkest increase, but at least four other residents have complained about rent hikes of more than $400, according to the records. Some increases appear to already have taken effect, while others will kick in this fall.

Greta Blau, co-founder of the Seramonte Tenants Union, said the increases cause "extreme levels of stress" and force worry over whether they will have to leave the community.

For some, it causes uncertainty over where their kids will go to school, Blau said, adding that Seramonte residents include elderly persons and children, single mothers, large families and people on fixed incomes.

"We've felt very alone and afraid and worried about where we're going to live, (because) there's nowhere to go," she said.

The New Haven Register reached out to Seramonte multiple times for comment via the number the town has on file, the email address listed in the Secretary of the State's website and emails to the property manager, but did not receive a response.

Human impact

Boxes filled the living room of Yamil Creve-Coeur's Mix Avenue townhouse Wednesday evening.

Seramonte is trying to raise her rent by $800 effective Oct. 1, according to Creve-Coeur's fair rent complaint, and the tenant said she was preparing for the possibility of having to move.

She has been paying $1,900 per month for the three-bedroom unit, the complaint shows, and the increase would bring the monthly cost to $2,700.

Creve-Coeur's daughter, Margaret Creve-Coeur, described how she felt when she got the news: "(I) realized we couldn't keep living here under those circumstances."

"For it to just jump out of the blue like that ... it felt like they were basically trying to kick us out," Margaret Creve-Coeur said.

Margaret Creve-Coeur shares the apartment with her mother and brother, she said. While she is a student at Quinnipiac University, she said, her brother is a high school senior expected to start college next year.

Yamil Creve-Coeur is a single mother, according to her daughter, and they are not sure where they will live were they to have to leave the apartment.

"It's difficult to find a house right now, or even another apartment, in the housing market we have," Margaret Creve-Coeur said. "We'd honestly just have to figure it out. ... We're hoping it doesn't get to that."

Iqbal is facing the same challenge.

"There are not a lot of places to be ... found," he said, adding that he is relying on the Fair Rent Commission to help his family.

Though Iqbal's rent notice is dated July 20, he said he did not receive it until Aug. 18.

Iqbal also is confused about the size of the increase. His five-bedroom unit consists of two apartments with the adjoining walls knocked down, he said.

Aside from repainting an area outside the apartment and cleaning up some greenery, he said, the property managers have not done anything to increase the value.

"I just don't think that it's fair for (Seramonte) to think that we can afford this in a month," Iqbal said. "I don't know what they expect us to do."

In arguing against the increases, some tenants in their complaints raised issues about the conditions of their rentals. One tenant claimed leaking water had caused mold problems in the unit, according to the corresponding complaint, which also accuses Seramonte of failing to provide adequately functioning appliances.

Another complaint mentions a hole in the unit's ceiling, while a third alleged the apartment lacked a kitchen sink faucet and had a toilet with a rotting base that caused sewage problems.

Town involvement

Blau, of the Seramonte Tenants Union, has accused the town of not acting quickly enough in responding to the rent complaints. She also has raised issues with how officials acted when they did become involved.

Blau filed a complaint of her own in February, according to correspondence she shared with the Register. The complaint reported an impending rent increase of $150, which Blau said already has taken effect.

Though she received confirmation of her submission from a town employee, Blau said she did not hear anything further for months — until Wednesday, when an email from a different town official said the Fair Rent Commission had received the complaint.

Her complaint remains unresolved, Blau said, calling the delay "egregious."

Blau said the union waited to file more complaints because it was told the town employee in charge of processing them was not doing so properly.

Most of the pending complaints are dated from July and August, and some appear to have been filed after the increase in question took place.

Legislative Council member Sarah Gallagher, D-4, said the commission has an attorney to advise it on its powers for acting on complaints filed retroactively.

Last month, Gallagher met with a group of tenants to discuss their concerns. According to Blau, they asked Gallagher that the town deal with the complaints through the union in order to shield individual tenants.

But town employees then began calling individual residents as well as property managers, according to Blau. She felt the approach disrespected the union, she said, adding that town leaders need to take it seriously for it to be effective.

Mayor Lauren Garrett said the town was following a procedure laid out in its Fair Rent Commission ordinance, which she interpreted as requiring officials to notify landlords about complaints.

"A hearing on the complaint shall be scheduled if the Commission determines, after review of the complaint, that the parties are unlikely to resolve the complaint informally," the ordinance states.

It calls on the commission to see if parties can reach a "mutually satisfactory resolution" prior to scheduling a hearing, a provision Garrett contended cannot be followed without contacting the landlord.

And because the town does not have a union membership list, she said in an interview, officials called tenants to ask whether their complaints should be handled individually or through the union.

"I'm really thrilled that they have a union because I understand there's power in numbers," she said. "We just have to ask them how they want their applications considered."

As for any delays in the town's response, they pertained to a personnel issue, according to Garrett, who said Hamden now has "a different person handling the fair rent."

The fair rent ordinance enables the administration to negotiate with landlords instead of sending complaints to hearings, a strategy Garrett said has been practiced in the past. But her administration is asking the fair rent commission to recommend the best way forward.

Due to the union's wishes, Gallagher said, she has refrained from contacting Seramonte. After she met with the tenants, she spoke with Garrett and they realized getting the Fair Rent Commission up and running could not wait.

"I really understand the tenants' and the union's frustration with this historical lack of momentum," Gallagher said.

Gallagher asked that the Legislative Council put the appointment of two commissioners on Tuesday's agenda so the commission could meet Wednesday, she said.

It did, with three commissioners present — just enough for a quorum.

"To have a 75 percent (rent) increase is unreasonable for anybody," Gallagher said. "That has to be addressed."