Kayla Jones speaks at a news conference on July 18, 2022, in Chicago. Jones is one of several Pangea Properties tenants who have signed onto a class-action lawsuit over dangerous conditions in South and West side apartments. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Pangea Properties is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit after tenants alleged the massive Chicago landlord disregarded upkeep and left South and West Side renters’ units in unsafe conditions.

The 14 tenants who joined the lawsuit, filed in Cook County’s Circuit Court Monday morning, cited roaches, rats, mold, squatters and other health and safety concerns that they say the major landlord left unaddressed. Pangea Properties manages more than 7,500 rental units at 423 properties across Chicago, making it one of the city’s largest landlords, according to the lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status.

“Pangea Properties exploits its renters by systematically ignoring maintenance requests to add to its bottom line,” said Christopher Wilmes, an attorney for the Chicago-based law firm Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick and Dym that represents the tenants.

The 204-page lawsuit details dozens of issues the 14 plaintiffs say they faced in their Pangea Properties homes, including broken elevators, ceilings gushing water and no heat in the winter. And as they made complaints, their landlord didn’t address their essential concerns and make their homes safe, the suit alleges.

Pangea Properties charges its low-income tenants fees for routine maintenance and threatens eviction to silence grievances, the lawsuit alleges. The company also routinely misrepresents units to prospective tenants, it alleges.

The company repudiated the allegations in a statement shared Tuesday morning.

“While we take all resident concerns seriously, we strongly deny the allegations made in the complaint, which run counter to the high service standards that have allowed us to become one of the largest providers of workforce housing in Chicago,” a Pangea Properties spokesperson said. “Pangea Properties has long been committed to providing quality, attainably priced housing that benefits both residents and the communities in which we do business. Each property is professionally operated by our in-house management team, which prioritizes customer service through regular communication and responsiveness to resident questions and requests. Residents are able to reach a Pangea representative through several means, including an online portal, by phone, or by visiting a local office. We routinely work with the City of Chicago to address building issues in order to provide safe, habitable, and code-compliant homes for our residents.”

Kayla Jones, 26, said she moved into a Chatham Pangea Properties unit around May 2021 and problems started immediately when the corporate landlord moved her into a different apartment than the one she toured. She said she saw roaches and rat droppings in the unit.

Attorney Christopher Wilmes, left, speaks at a news conference while his clients, Kayla Jones and Willie Bradly, listen on July 18, 2022, in Chicago. Jones and Bradley are among several Pangea Properties tenants who’ve signed on to a lawsuit seeking class-action status over dangerous conditions in South and West Side apartments, citing infestations, mold, squatters and other health or safety issues. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

“When I called the property manager, they told me I was the only one complaining about the problem,” Jones said at a Monday morning new conference outside a Pangea Properties building in South Austin.

She described mice jumping on her stove and microwave and dying on her carpet. She said she called 311, and an operator told her that the city gets many complaints from the area and advised her to move away, she said.

She said the apartment next to hers was broken into and that there are squatters in her building.

“I really just want Pangea to do better, and I want them to give everybody back their money that deserves it,” Jones told the Tribune.

Willie Bradley, another plaintiff, said he found mold in his South Shore Pangea Properties apartment. The corporate landlord sent out a maintenance worker who sprayed white paint over the growth, said Bradley, a retired senior-housing maintenance supervisor. Then the mold grew back worse, he said.

Two years later, a Pangea Properties maintenance worker came and cut out a moldy portion of the bedroom wall, Bradley said. The worker taped black plastic bags around the 4-foot cutout and left, the lawsuit alleges. The hole wasn’t patched by maintenance workers until mid-December despite numerous maintenance requests, it alleges.

The 66-year-old said he has also faced problems with electricity, cooling and heating. When he turns on air conditioning and the microwave at the same time, the power goes out, usually for six hours, he added. He has reported the electrical issues 17 times in the last five years, the lawsuit alleges.

“Everybody deserves to have a decent place to stay,” he told the Tribune.

The Metropolitan Tenants Organizations gets more calls about Pangea Properties than any other management company in Chicago, Executive Director John Bartlett said. Tenants have made hundreds of calls about repairs not getting done, he said.

“They have a record of not maintaining at least some of their properties,” Bartlett said. “They’ve had lots of people calling.”

Willie Smith waited for Monday’s news conference to end to walk into his Pangea Properties apartment building. But when the 62-year-old heard the speakers, he set down his groceries. He asked an attorney for their number afterward, because he wants in on the lawsuit.

“Elevators stink. Hallways trashed. On maintenance, my toilet, my doors, my carpet’s dirty,” Smith told the Tribune.

He can never pin down the maintenance worker, he said.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Pangea Properties.