A Knoxville landlord convinced a local news station to remove an article about the company doubling rents at an apartment complex soon after buying it, according to a screenshot of an email posted on Reddit.
According to the email, which was sent from a Rand Property Management executive to Rand employees, Knoxville news station WBIR removed the article after meeting with the company. Links to the article are now broken, and the piece, which ran July 28, appears to have been deleted from WBIR’s site.
Rand and Corey Presley, news director for WBIR, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
WBIR’s article, which was previously viewed by Streetlight and is available in cached versions online, reported that Rand had recently bought the Tanglewood Apartments in Knoxville and planned to double some residents’ rents. One tenant told WBIR their rent would increase from $850 to $1,600.
The article noted that WBIR had contacted Rand for comment but didn’t receive a response.
In July, Rand bought the apartments, now known as Rand at Tillery, and renters soon learned the new owner planned to significantly raise their rents and add new fees when their leases renewed. Residents began organizing around the issue, and Rand revised plans to double rents for tenants whose leases ended in July and August.
Streetlight and Knoxville station WVLT also covered Rand’s plans to double rent at Tanglewood. Streetlight spoke with five renters who cited increases similar to those reported by WBIR.
Matt Kummer, news director for WVLT, didn’t respond to a call and email asking if Rand employees had requested the station remove its article, which remains available online. Rand has not asked Streetlight staff to remove our article, which also details the company’s purchase of Tanglewood for $10.5 million.
On Friday, a Reddit user posted a screenshot of an email appearing to be sent from Rand Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Outland to the “Rand Fam Team.”
“This morning WBIR agreed to remove and has removed the article they ran on Rand at Tillery,” she wrote, according to the screenshot. “Jake and I have met and spoken to the team at WBIR multiple times, and we’re happy to report this outcome.”
Outland may be referring to Jake Stenziano, the founder of Rand Property Management and co-founder of Rand Partners, according to a company bio.
Outland continued, the screenshot shows: “We’re dedicated to preserving the integrity of this outstanding organization that everyone on this email works diligently to build and maintain.”
Contact Streetlight editor Mollie Bryant at 405-990-0988 or bryant@streetlightnews.org. Follow her reporting by joining our newsletter.
Streetlight, previously BigIfTrue.org, is a nonprofit news site based in Oklahoma City. Our mission is to report stories that envision a more equitable world and energize our readers to improve their communities. Donate to support our work here.
