Homeless on Hurley Street

BEREA — After a water line ruptured in an upstairs apartment at 31 Hurley Street, flooding a unit below, the building’s decrepit conditions came into sharp focus, as previously reported by The Edge. Now tenants building-wide have been told to vacate so rehabilitation on the building can begin.

“The owner has to have the [apartments] vacant to complete the repairs,” Tyler Oatts, the building’s property manager, told The Edge. “The building is not livable without electricity so [the owner has] given the tenants a 14-day notice to vacate the property so they can start the repairs required by code enforcement.”

The City’s codes department cut the utilities to the building on December 6. That was after the Berea Fire Department responded to an emergency call from a tenant about a significant amount of water flooding Unit #6. When they arrived on the scene, in addition to the busted pipe, the responders discovered a water-logged electrical panel and alerted the codes department.

Months of repairs

The City has since cited the building’s owner, Modern Capital, LLC, with a multitude of code violations. The building’s level of disrepair has been found so extensive by the City that Oatts, the codes department, and several contractors called upon for bids by Oatts’ company, Realiant Property Management in Nicholasville, have all agreed the building will not be up to code for a minimum of three months once work begins on the place.

“Just for the electrical, [the contractors] are estimating up to 90 days days minimum, and it could be longer depending on any issues they potentially find when drywall is removed and uncovered,” Oatts told The Edge. “The decking and stairs all need to be demolished and replaced as well before the other interior renovations can begin.”

Accommodations through Christmas

Jeffrey Riney, a tenant in the building confirmed with The Edge that he received notice last Friday, December 13, that he had two weeks to vacate. So far, Riney said he has not been able to find another home.

“It’s Christmas. No one’s gonna show you around or even pick up the phone,” Riney tole The Edge. However, he said that he’d been called yesterday by a representative of Realiant with the news that his current temporary housing, provided by Modern Capital, LLC, will last at least through Christmas Day.

When the property’s owner was notified that the City had cut the power and water to the building, the company arranged temporary quarters for any of the tenants who wanted them at the Knight’s Inn on Route 25. Four tenants, according to the Knight’s Inn owner, Sunny Patel, have used the rooms, as reported previously by The Edge and confirmed by Oatts.

“I do not have any information on how long the owner will extend their hotel rooms for, but they have encouraged [the tenants] to start looking for other permanent housing,” Oatts said.

Vacate notice v. eviction

The notice to vacate is not the same as an eviction, according to tenancy laws. If tenants do not comply with the vacate notice, however, Oatts said his client would turn to the courts to take back possession of the property so repairs can begin.

The apartment complex has three buildings, and a few vacancies in other buildings that are not under extensive repair.

Oatts said he and his client is working with contractors to determine if the vacant apartments in another of the buildings can be offered to the tenants who’ve been turned out of their homes at 31 Hurley. The vacancies still need to be refurbished, according to Oatts, but not because of code concerns.

“When the other units in the other buildings are ready for occupancy the tenants that are considered to be in good standing will be offered to apply on those units first,” Oatts said. “Good standing”, Oatts clarified, means tenants who did not create pest infestations or leave animals to die in the apartment.

Felony charge

The flood in Unit #6 led to the discovery of its infestation with roaches, fleas, and gnats, as well as numerous cats in various states of illness, including two dead kittens. Black mold and the smell of feces also featured.

Subsequently, when Realiant clean up crews arrived, some residents from the adjacent building led them to the vacant Unit #18 where yet more cats had been left to die by the previous tenants.

Charges, including a felony for animal cruelty for the previous tenant of unit #18, have been entered against the two cat owners. Madison County Animal Control and Sheriff’s Department are handling the charges.

Hurley’s history

The apartment complex was sold for 1.75 million dollars on October 28 of this year, by DJFL Properties, LLC, in Waco, Ky, to Modern Capital, LLC, a Murphy, N.C.-based company. As The Edge reported last week, tenants throughout the complex complained that the previous owners were negligent on repairs and maintenance of the building.

The Edge has requested records to do with code complaints and violations at the Hurley Street property, and will report when the records have been reviewed.

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