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Tenants sue Mint Urban Infinity apartments again, claim new owner hasn't improved conditions

One of the tenants leading the new lawsuit told Denver7 she feels "trapped" amid issues like broken elevators, widespread trash and lack of security.

Just three months after previous tenants were awarded millions, current tenants are now suing the new owner, saying not enough has been done in three years to improve the conditions.

Tenants sue Mint Urban Infinity apartments again, claim new owner hasn't improved conditions

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By: Ryan Fish

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DENVER — Denver7 has been covering living conditions at the Mint Urban Infinity apartment complex since 2021.

Just three months ago, a Denver jury awarded former tenants more than $13 million in a lawsuit against the property’s previous owner and management, ruling that they violated Colorado’s Warranty of Habitability. Last week, current tenants filed another lawsuit, saying new ownership hasn’t done enough to improve the living conditions.

Read our previous coverage of the Mint Urban Infinity apartments below:

Property management company Cortland took over the Mint urban Infinity property in June 2022, just as Bretney Steinberger moved in.

“We were excited to have our own place, and we had heard the pool and all the amenities and the gym and this and that,” she told Denver7 Monday. “We move in, and it's just fail after fail, promise after promise broken.”

Steinberger said she and the other tenants feel “trapped” living at the property, and over the last three years, the elevators have only worked for a few weeks total.

“I gave birth to my son in April of 2024, and it was miserable trying to get up the stairs the very next day after giving birth,” she recalled. “I could not leave my apartment for six or seven weeks. My doctor, I was not allowed to do stairs… I was literally, virtually trapped on the fourth floor.”

Trash is piling up outside broken elevators inside the Mint Urban Infinity apartments.

Denver7 did a walk-through of Steinberger’s building Monday, noting the broken elevators as well as trash piling up in front of the elevators on upper floors. A laundry room had holes in the wall and ceiling, while storage areas had doors dislodged from their units.

Steinberger said exterior doors and windows have also frequently been left open.

“We have found homeless people sitting in closets,” she explained. “I found a homeless man with a knife one night sleeping when I went to take the dog out one evening.”

In Steinberger’s apartment, there is an unfixed leak and a gaping hole in the bathroom ceiling. She said the issue dates back more than a year, while the hole has been there since last October.

“You cannot get a hold of maintenance,” she told Denver7. “This isn't fair to us. This is not safe. I have elderly people stuck on my floor who cannot leave, because they are disabled.”

Steinberger is now one of two tenants leading the lawsuit that aims to represent tenants at the property over the last three years. Attorney Benjamin DeGolia represented the group of tenants who prevailed in the prior lawsuit and said this lawsuit will target Cortland using the same argument.

“Honestly, it seems like pretty much nothing has changed,” DeGolia told Denver7 Monday. “I did notice that the pool is no longer green… But cockroaches, elevators down, people who don't live here, staying in the building… most of the conditions that we saw the first time around, and that were the subject of that first lawsuit, really haven't changed at all.”

Read the full lawsuit below

Denver7 reached out to Cortland for an interview, but received the following statement instead:

“As always, we take concerns and complaints from residents seriously and make every effort to address any issues that are brought to our attention in a timely manner. Since we first purchased and began managing this property, we have invested significant time, money, and resources to improving the community for our residents and will continue to do so. We have several projects that are still ongoing due to external factors and are making every effort to ensure that these projects are completed as soon as possible. We appreciate our residents’ patience and look forward to continuing to make Mint Urban Infinity a wonderful place to live.”

Steinberger said the work Cortland has done is mostly outside her building.

“It's just crazy that they've put in so much money in building a new pool and putting in flowers and rocks, and they just did this grass over here, but they put nothing into making their residents feel at home,” she said.

Steinberger said her family hasn’t been able to afford moving out early but plans to leave at the end of their lease in October. As this lawsuit moves forward, she wants to keep sticking up for her neighbors.

“Somebody had to do it, and I'm more than willing to step up and be the face for everybody here in Mint Urban,” she said. “It gives me a sense of peace.”