Disgraced Minneapolis landlord Stephen Frenz appears in court

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A controversial Minneapolis landlord turned down a plea deal, and now his trial is underway.

Stephen Frenz is charged with felony perjury, accused of lying about the number of rentals in his building to avoid making urgent fixes for other tenants. 

“Not having heat and it’s negative 30 degrees, and you don’t have no heat or half of the building has heat and the other wouldn’t… that’s the worst,” said Chloe Jackson, a tenant in one of Frenz' buildings.

According to charging documents, those tenants of Frenz’ needed a majority of occupied apartments to sign on to their demands in order to take their action to court.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman described Frenz’ conduct as “blatant” earlier this year.

“There are some real basics here: thou shall not kill, thou shall not assault your neighbor, thou shall not lie in court,” he said.

Meanwhile, Frenz is also dealing with issues outside the courtroom. The city of Minneapolis revoked his rental licenses in 2017, and tenants are trying to purchase five buildings along 22nd Avenue South that he still owns.

So far, he’s balked at their $7 million offer while trying to evict those living there, including Jackson, who said finding affordable housing in a comfortable Minneapolis neighborhood is daunting.

“Him having his trial right now is the last thing on my mind. What’s actually on my mind is staying in my home and keeping my home with my neighbors,” Jackson said.

Both sides expect to wrap up jury selection Wednesday morning when the trial will get underway with Opening Statements.