Tenants may be forced out of ‘unlivable' homes

Saturday, July 11, 2009
Natasha Lindstrom
Victorville Daily Press

An owner who bailed on an $8,000 gas bill and is nowhere to be found
could force a dozen tenants onto the street because their homes have
become unlivable.

Apartment and trailer tenants at Motor Inn Apartments, off
National Trails Highway just east of Southern California Logistics
Airport, have been living without gas for about two weeks. Most of the
trailers on the property also lost electricity this week, and tenants
report mold growing on walls, broken windows and an open sewage system
— problems they say they’ve been trying to get repaired for months.

“We are looking to move because without gas and electricity, we
can’t survive,” said tenant Brenda Ramos, 22, who lives at the complex
with her two children and husband.

San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services has issued a
notice of violation to the tenants and owner, and county officials will
return to the complex next week to see if any repairs have been made.
If not, the county will issue a notice of default — giving tenants up
to 10 days to vacate the property, said Corwin Porter, public health
program manager for county Environmental Health Services.

“It’s a very difficult situation for people like that, because
obviously they need the owner’s support, and if they don’t have it,
then it puts them on the line,” Porter said. “And as a result, if the
conditions are substandard for a certain period of time, we have no
choice under law to remove those people from those conditions.”

Tenants, who pay $375 to $600 a month, worry they won’t be able
to find a new home quickly. Some are elderly or have serious health
problems, and about a dozen children live there. Many tenants have no
cars and rely on a bus that comes by every two hours to get around the
Victor Valley.

“They should do more than just say, ‘You’ve got 15 days,’ ” said
Robert Vaughan, 22. “It doesn’t give us enough time to save and be able
to find a place and survive.”

Amber Robinson, who works as a baker in Hesperia, said she’s
already hunting for a new home, but it’s difficult to find another
place on such short notice.

“We put everything we had into this — it’s our first apartment —
and now we’re losing our deposit and getting shafted,” said Robinson,
21, who moved into the complex in August with her boyfriend. “What are
we supposed to do?”

Property management has changed several times since she moved
into a $375-per-month studio at the complex in August, Robinson said.

The tenants have been waiting on much-needed repairs for months.
Robinson said she spent the winter bundled in piles of blankets because
her windows were broken, and recently the trash wasn’t collected for
nearly three months.

Robinson and several others have turned to Inland Counties Legal
Services for recourse against the owner, who they only know as “Joshua.”

“We have no control of our utilities and it’s not right that
they can shut off our gas and electricity when we pay our part," said
Adam Wade, 21, father of two.

Jorge Barrales, managing attorney for Victorville’s Inland
Counties Legal Services, declined to comment on the specifics of their
case but said, in general, tenants have the right to file small claims
suits to collect deposits and rent paid while the owner broke
contractual agreements and relocation costs.

Barrales said this instance of an owner abandoning a property is “the biggest that I’ve seen at one location.”

“It
is always best to have any agreements in writing,” Barrales said. “But
in some circumstances, you just never know when a landlord is going to
stop doing what they’re supposed to.”

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