Heartland Center for Jobs & Freedom
In Downtown Springfield, Missouri, dozens of Rosewood-Cedarwood Tenant Union members and community supporters gathered for a press conference to celebrate winning a preliminary injunction motion. The injunction halts current plans to evict low-income, senior, and disabled tenants from their homes this August.
Springfield tenants, represented by the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom and local counsel Eric Jensen, won the preliminary injunction in their class action lawsuit against their former and current landlords. The Court’s injunction ruling found that the tenants have some probability to succeed on their claims that Defendants unlawfully removed the properties from the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) affordable housing program; that the loss of their homes before their claims were fully heard would cause them irreparable harm; and that the harm to tenants would outweigh any potential harm to the developers.
The fight to save our homes and communities is not over, but we are relieved that we can at least stay in our homes and communities while we see this fight through. The court found there is a likelihood that we could succeed in this fight, and we believe that we ultimately will succeed. Luxury developers are not stronger than organized, unionized tenants.
In May of 2025, tenants of two Springfield affordable housing complexes, Rosewood Estates and Cedarwood Terrace Townhomes, brought the suit after learning their homes had been removed from the LIHTC program. Previous owners sold the properties to wealthy developers seeking to transform their homes into luxury developments. The conversion would have removed federal protections and forced residents from their affordable homes. The underlying Complaint alleges that the current and former owners’ failure to properly opt out of the program deprived tenants of their rights under federal and state law. Had tenants been timely notified as agreed, they would have had a chance to find a preservation buyer and keep their homes affordable and their communities intact.
Impacted tenants spoke to the crowd, sharing their stories of how Springfield’s lack of affordable housing accelerated the emotional and physical stress of waiting for the Court’s ruling. In between speakers, chants of “we shall not be moved” and cheers erupted.
The issue of permanent affordability impacts everyone. Rosewood-Cedarwood Tenants are one of thousands who live or lived in an expiring LIHTC unit. If you are a LIHTC tenant or you know one, check your owner’s contract and your lease. Look into the details, get curious about your rights.
This case and this win is more important than ever in today’s world. Affordable housing is rapidly declining in Springfield and across this country. Rosewood and Cedarwood tenants are an example to tenants nationwide. When tenants learn their rights, and organize and unionize to enforce those rights, real change is possible.
About the legal team
Legal support is provided by the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, a nonprofit organization in Kansas City, Missouri, that enforces the rights of low-wage workers and tenants, and local Springfield attorney Eric Jensen of the SJP Law Firm.
About the Rosewood-Cedarwood Tenant Union
Rosewood-Cedarwood Tenant Union is a chapter of Springfield Tenants Unite (STUN), Springfield, Missouri’s citywide tenant union. Founded in June 2020, STUN is organizing to ensure that everyone in Springfield has access to safe, accessible, and truly affordable homes. They are led by a multigenerational, multiracial base of poor and working-class tenants.
Media contact
Press release: L Hudson, lhudson@jobsandfreedom.org, 816-541-6791
Press interviews: Sarah Barnts, sarah@sgftenantsunite.org, 417-848-0671