EASTHAMPTON — Two years ago, the owners of the Pleasant View apartment complex dealt $400 rent increases to multiple tenants.
In August, another increase arrived after a change in ownership: Multiple residents received notices ranging from $100 to $200. They were notified of these rent hikes through an online property management app as they were prompted to renew their leases by Oct. 1. The complex, located at 22 Nashawannuck St., includes 33 one- and two-bedroom units spread across four buildings.
Many tenants were startled by the new increase but have decided not to accept it without a fight.
“The first time I just cried, I couldn’t even believe it,” tenant Nancy Dorian said in an interview with the Gazette with other Pleasant View tenants. “This time — I’m not doing it.”
Dorian and many others decided to band together to negotiate with one of the current landlords, Jay Patel, who bought the property for a little more than $5 million about a year ago, according to property deed records.
Across the units, 24 tenants signed a letter saying they would not sign the lease, many of whom are a part of the Pleasant View Tenants Association and are in negotiations. After the first two rounds, management’s most recent proposal calls for multiyear leases, an offer of a $75 increase to monthly rents immediately with a 5% increase annual cap over the next three years, with no deadline to sign. Dorian said tenants are assessing next steps.
Dorian pays $1,450 for her two-bedroom unit and received an initial $160 proposed increase, which would have brought her rent to $1,610.
In a phone interview with the Gazette, Patel said that the increases were necessary after purchasing the property due to a number of rising costs, including Easthampton’s recently approved $6.9 million Proposition 2½ override.
“The override is probably one of the bigger drivers; it’s probably the majority of costs that we’ve factored in,” Patel said, adding that management and insurance costs are also increasing, and Easthampton approved a 5% increase to water and sewer rates earlier this year.
“We have to manage all of that,” Patel said.
But the tenants, including Andrey Popchuck, said that prices are going up for them as well and feel the landlords have not been understanding. Popchuck was originally given notice of a $200 increase.
“A lot of our frustrations are coming from us to the negotiating table,” Popchuck said. “We’re saying, ‘We need you to at least consider that times are tough for us, too.'”
In negotiations, Patel has been accompanied by his business partner Naresh Patel, who owns multiple properties throughout Easthampton and in other communities. The two are unrelated but share a last name, Jay Patel said.
Jay Patel told the Gazette that Naresh Patel was not available for comment.
In the first round of negotiations, tenants asked for smaller rent increases and a multiyear lease agreement to help ensure stable costs, compared to the original notice that held them to a month-to-month lease. The landlords countered, offering to cap the rent increases at $150 and declined to enter a multiyear agreement.
The tenants didn’t budge. In a second negotiation, they stuck with their requests, and the landlords replied with the offer that stands.
“We’re trying to listen to the concerns of the tenants and revise our offer to meet that feedback,” Jay Patel said. “We’re here and open to continuing to discuss.”
Tenant Jack Duggan said there are several veterans, older individuals and others who have lived at Pleasant View for a long time.
“We’re great tenants. This is our home,” Duggan said. “People are invested in this. [Some] people have been here almost 20 years.”
Property history
In October 2024, Daniel and Joseph Scherban of the New York-based real estate agency, Rowin Capital bought the property for $4 million.
A month later, many tenants received $400 rent increase notices, representing 35% to 40% hikes. Some increases were less than $400, some were more, but multiple tenants ended their leases and moved out. Dorian said she accepted the increase along with many fellow tenants, feeling it was her only option.
Then in October 2025, Jay Patel bought the building from the Scherbans under a limited liability company called Easthampton Pleasantview.
Jay Patel and Naresh Patel are part of Easthampton-based Ivory Equity real estate, located at 203 Northampton St., according to its website. Ivory Equity has “repositioned more than 36 properties, constructed new developments and built a reputation for closing joint ventures and syndications with precision and integrity” in the Northeast region, the website says.
The two have their names listed under multiple LLCs, including Mahadev LLC, which owns multiple real estate properties and various businesses across Easthampton. In November last year, around the time they purchased Pleasant View, they also closed a deal on the mill building known as Mill 180 on Pleasant Street for $9.75 million, according to property records.
Jay Patel declined to comment when asked about Pleasant View’s rent prices compared to market value. He said part of the reason they bought the property was to keep the ownership local, compared to the former out-of-state landlords.
According to information from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, about $2,000 is considered a fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit in Hampshire County for fiscal 2027. Fiscal 2025’s rate was about $1,500.
“Candidly, Naresh bought this property for more than it was worth,” Jay Patel said. “We basically wanted to keep [the] landlord local.”
The 22 Nashawannuck St. property is assessed at about $3.1 million for fiscal 2026, with an annual tax bill of about $41,000, according to Easthampton’s override calculator. The override, which will show up on tax bills in December, would raise that by about $8,000, to roughly $49,000.
Even though the landlords are based in Easthampton, some tenants feel their practices reflect an interest in making money. The tenants say that they gathered financial records that show the landlords would still make a profit on Pleasant View without the rent increase.
“He doesn’t seem to be acknowledging our points,” Popchuck said.
Rent control?
Multiple statewide rent control measures have lost momentum over the past year. There was previously a rent control ballot question slated for Tuesday’s election, until the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled the petition was unconstitutional.
Sister bills in the state House and Senate titled “An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants” have also made little progress since being proposed nearly two years ago.
Meanwhile, the Easthampton Rent Study Committee is closing in on finalizing a draft home rule petition for a local form of rent stabilization. The measure would need approval from the City Council and the State Legislature.
