South Tucson leaders and tenant advocates are praising Attorney General Kris Mayes for taking action against several troubled apartment complexes, calling it long-overdue accountability for years of unsafe living conditions.

City Councilman Brian Flagg called the action “a huge relief,” while the Tucson Tenants Union said the order echoes demands they raised during protests last year.

On Aug. 29, Mayes issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding “immediate action to address the lack of air conditioning, rampant potential mold growth, potential exposure to asbestos, and a host of other serious health and safety issues” at Spanish Trail Suites, Sixth Avenue Suites, Oasis Apartments and Eucalyptus Apartments.

All four complexes are owned by Brian Bowers. Tucson Spotlight has reported extensively on deteriorating conditions at his property, the Spanish Trail Motel, which sits adjacent to the Spanish Trail Suites.

Sixth Avenue Suites is also located in South Tucson. Oasis Apartments are near East Grant Road and North Dodge Boulevard, while Eucalyptus Apartments are near East Fort Lowell Road and North First Avenue.

The letter said the properties failed to provide “habitable conditions” for tenants and noted that investigators from Mayes’ office conducted site visits at all four complexes.

In addition to broken air conditioning and potential mold, the team also found “suspected asbestos disturbance, exposed wires, evidence of rodent and pest infestations, and broken windows, roof tiles, and doorways,” according to a news release from the AG’s office.

The release said the issues “are likely the result of historic and extreme neglect that has severely endangered these tenants.”

Flagg and others agree and have long pushed Bowers to act. In May, the Tucson Tenants Union led a protest demanding that Bowers address issues at Spanish Trail Suites after a fire left residents without electricity for weeks.

“It is a huge relief that the AG has her attention on this,” Flagg told Tucson Spotlight. “She has a track record of sticking up for exploited poor people, so her keen interest in South Tucson is most appreciated.”

Flagg said the apartments have become a public safety and law enforcement issue because of the poor conditions and high number of police calls.

“He's a smart guy and knows how to get out of situations,” Flagg said. “Hopefully this is the last one that he can’t slither out of, and two highly dysfunctional properties can be fixed.”

The cease-and-desist letter outlines a series of issues at each of the four properties, including “broken or low functioning air conditioning with high indoor temperatures” at Sixth Avenue Suites, with one unit recording a temperature of 101 degrees.

In other units, investigators found exposed asbestos, open wires, black mold, broken windows, damage to doors, loose roof tiles and expired fire extinguishers.

Spanish Trail Suites had many of the same issues, with evidence of dangerous indoor temperatures in several units, visible black mold growth in multiple apartments and mold growing outside the building. Since 2020, the nearby Spanish Trail Motel has been the site of 29 fires, one of which displaced residents and required asbestos permits to fix damaged units.

Investigators found similar conditions at Oasis Apartments and Eucalyptus Apartments, with the news release saying that as of Sept. 10, the AG’s office had yet to receive proof that Bowers completed any repairs.

“Tenants in Arizona have the right to live in safe, livable homes,” Mayes said in the release. “Broken air conditioning, suspected asbestos, and rodent infestations are not minor issues — they are threats to health and safety. My office will not hesitate to take legal action against landlords who put profits over people and ignore their obligations under the law.”

The AG’s office also reviewed Bowers’ rental listings, finding no mention of the problems and noting that the ads “imply the opposite of what tenants and the structures are going through.”

“The photographs Six Ave Suites boasts in its online advertisements are so far removed from reality that it borders on absurdity,” the letter said.

The letter says the conditions and representations appear false or deceptive, possibly violating the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, and orders all mold, asbestos and electrical repairs at every complex to be completed by Sept. 12.

If the appropriate repairs are not made in time, the AG is demanding that the complexes provide remedies until repairs can be completed, including alternative housing at no cost to tenants.

Colton Allder is a Tucson-based freelancer who reports for Tucson Spotlight. Contact him at callder1995@gmail.com.

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