INDIANAPOLIS – Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit today against Aloft Mgt, LLC (“Aloft”) and Fox Lake AHF, Inc. (“Fox Lake”) for their respective roles in allowing the Fox Club and Lakeside Pointe apartment complexes in Indianapolis to fall into egregious disrepair, endangering the health and welfare of thousands of residents. The Attorney General requested a receiver be appointed to take control of the property management companies’ finances, remove the board of directors, and attempt to right the wrongs committed by Fox Lake and Aloft against residents of Indianapolis.
“When landlords and property managers fail to meet their basic obligation to provide tenants with safe and secure housing, my office won’t hesitate to take action to hold them accountable and seek justice for Hoosiers who’ve been wronged,” said Attorney General Rokita. “In this case, it is in part because of my office’s unique role governing nonprofit corporations that we are able to take this action today. The defendants’ pattern of unlawful conduct, including a failure to maintain even basic habitability standards, is not only unfair but runs counter to Fox Lake’s stated purpose of providing low-income housing in the Indianapolis community.”
A year-long investigation by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office uncovered severe neglect and mismanagement by Fox Lake and Aloft. Residents at Lakeside Pointe have suffered through fires, lack of heat and air conditioning, water damage, mold, broken windows, and countless other conditions rendering their homes uninhabitable or nearly uninhabitable.
Since 2017, Fox Lake has received over 600 Notices of Violation issued by the Marion County Public Health Department for poor conditions including failure to provide hot water, air conditioning, and heat, as well as failure to address mold, plumbing, and sewage issues, missing screens, and scattered trash. Just last month, Fox Lake placed residents of Lakeside Pointe and Fox Club apartment complexes at risk of having their water shut off when property management failed to make a payment toward a $1 million bill owed to Citizens Energy Group.
The lawsuit also alleges that Fox Lake is unable to fulfill its purpose as a nonprofit providing low-income housing and that it is misapplying or wasting its assets to the detriment of the residents of Lakeside Pointe and Fox Club. Fox Lake recently lost its charitable property tax exemption from Marion County.
Furthermore, the State alleges that Aloft is engaging in real estate transactions without the license required by law and, along with Fox Lake, are engaging in gross neglect of the maintenance of Lakeside Pointe to the severe detriment of its residents.
“I applaud the Attorney General’s Office for taking legal action against the landlord of Lakeside Pointe at Nora in Senate District 30,” said State Senator Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis). “Over the past few months, I worked very closely with community groups and the Attorney General’s Office to bring justice to more than 400 families living at the apartment complex. All Hoosiers deserve to live in dignified and adequate living conditions.”
“After many months of conversations with a range of stakeholders working hard to provide livable conditions for the residents of Lakeside Pointe in Nora, I am thrilled to see legal action against the derelict, out-of-state property owners, Aloft Mgt., LLC,” said State Representative Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis). “I will continue to work with community groups and the Attorney General’s Office to help ensure that living conditions improve dramatically and that families can stay in their homes.”
“I applaud the Attorney General for his vigilance in ensuring that Hoosiers residing in the Fox Club and Lakeside Pointe apartment complexes receive justice for their current unsafe and unsanitary living conditions,” said State Representative Justin Moed (D-Indianapolis). “I look forward to seeing action and advocacy on behalf of the tenants, and accountability for Aloft Management’s negligence. It is heartening to see state leaders working together to uplift our neighbors.”
Aloft is the property manager of the Lakeside Pointe apartment complexes on the north side of Indianapolis. Fox Lake is a nonprofit corporation that owns the Lakeside Pointe apartment complex as well as the Fox Club apartment complex on Indianapolis’ south side.
The filings are attached.
