Tenant urges city to investigate Future Rentals, calls for stronger tenant protections

During the public-comment period, Clarissa Sheehan told the Alamogordo City Commission that a property management company, Future Rentals, subjected tenants to “harmful, intimidating, and unlawful practices” and urged the city to open a formal investigation and strengthen tenant-protection measures.

Sheehan identified herself as a current or recent tenant and said she had consulted a local attorney and learned that at least 10 other clients had similar claims against the same management company. “We are talking about a power imbalance that allows this company to damage tenant's credit, threaten housing stability, and twist contracts to their advantage,” she said. Sheehan said some tenants avoid reporting abuses for fear of retaliation.

She asked the commission to create “a clear reporting channel so tenants can safely document and report misconduct without fear of retaliation” and to consider stronger local protections. She said she had written to federal legislators as well.

Commissioners thanked Sheehan for speaking but did not take formal action at the meeting on her request. Staff did not present an enforcement or investigative response during the session; commissioners and staff later moved to the city-manager report without a directed staff assignment recorded on the public record.

Sheehan said she had just signed a lease out of state and felt safe enough to speak publicly; she concluded by urging the commission to make tenant protections a local priority.

No enforcement action, motion, or vote related to Future Rentals was recorded in the meeting minutes for this session.