SPRINGFIELD — Schweb Partners LLC will likely have to pay $2.5 million to the commonwealth and forgive $7.5 million in unpaid rent to affected tenants after Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell alleged in a complaint that the New Jersey-based real estate company violated various housing laws at its Springfield Gardens apartments.
The $10 million settlement in consumer relief was reached via a proposed consent judgement, according to Campbell’s office. A court has not approved the settlement yet.
According to Campbell, if the settlement is approved, it “will resolve allegations that the former landlord pervasively and systematically violated various state consumer protection and landlord-tenant laws, leading to unsafe, uninhabitable and unlawful living conditions that impacted over one thousand tenants.”
Additionally, Schweb would be prohibited from managing or owning real estate properties in Massachusetts.
“Landlords who operate in Massachusetts have a legal obligation to ensure their tenants are living in safe and sanitary housing,” Campbell said. “When those obligations are violated, it doesn’t just break our laws, it unfairly traumatizes our residents who are often led to live in uninhabitable conditions or be uprooted from their homes. I am proud to announce this settlement, which will provide meaningful relief for tenants.”
Schweb has been under public scrutiny multiple times throughout the last several years. Between 2020 and 2024, the company — operated by principals Jacques Schmidt and Abraham Weber — purchased and operated 62 “Springfield Gardens” apartment buildings that mostly resided in the Metro Center and Forest Park neighborhoods.
The company quickly became one of Springfield’s largest landlords, renting to nearly 1,300 tenants, but faced heavy backlash multiple times for significant housing violations and other legal issues.
Background
In 2023, several tenants and city officials spoke out against the landlords after experiencing several code infractions, ineffective security standards and sanitation issues, according to previous Reminder Publishing reporting.
At an Economic Development and Public Safety meeting that year, Building Commissioner Steve Desilets said his office received “hundreds and hundreds of complaints” over one year from residents of the properties. Joel Feldman, a legal representative for the tenants, said at the time that the scope of the problems at Springfield Gardens was “unlike anything he encountered” in his nearly three decades of working in the city.
Residents raised several issues at the apartments, including an infestation of cockroaches and rodents, intense leaking problems, broken windows and inactive heating.
Meanwhile, the landlords faced legal recourse, including $1,000 a day and $200 a day fines as legal cases continued to appear in housing court over various infractions. One case featured 35 days of contempt charges against the locations.
Additionally, Springfield Gardens was found in contempt by Housing Court Judge Jonathan Kane for their failure to provide adequate security and meet code standards.
“The infamous Springfield Gardens has earned their reputation based on the constant problems we’ve had … This has probably been the biggest number of cases we’ve had to handle with any landlord at one time,” Desilets said at the time.
Campbell’s findings
The attorney general’s office asserts that Schweb knowingly and persistently neglected to address widespread unsafe and unsanitary conditions across its 62 properties, often failing to meet basic habitability standards under the State Sanitary Code.
According to the attorney general’s office, Schweb regularly failed to make or improperly delayed adequate repairs in response to tenant reports regarding unsafe and unsanitary conditions — including persistent water leaks, mold, collapsed ceilings, pest infestations, lack of heat and hot water, unsecure exterior doors, fire safety concerns and other issues often persisting for weeks, months or even years.
Campbell’s office said that throughout its ownership tenure, Schweb received at least 26,000 tenant complaints regarding such conditions across its properties, many of which were ignored, inadequately addressed or improperly delayed.
Her team also stated that the landlords failed to keep tenants’ security deposits in separate, interest-bearing accounts, as legally required, and “unlawfully misappropriated tenant security deposits into its own accounts to cover its operating expenses.”
“Furthermore, the AGO alleged that Schweb often failed to return security deposits within 30 days of tenants moving out, made improper deductions from security deposits and failed to provide an itemized list of damages for any deductions it made,” the announcement read.
Campbell’s consent judgement was filed in the Suffolk County Superior Court, according to her office, and if approved, the complaint will be resolved.
In a statement to Reminder Publishing, Mayor Domenic Sarno commended Campbell and her office for securing this result for Springfield residents.
“I commend her for continuing to hold the former owners of the former Springfield Gardens properties accountable for their dereliction of duties,” Sarno said. “I am thrilled to be rid of this ‘slum lord,’ and once again thank AG Campbell and team for not only supporting our local efforts, but also for their continued advocacy on behalf of our residents.”
