HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — An apartment complex in Harrisonville, Missouri, has frustrated its tenants with a lack of communication and transparency.
Many people who live there are now scrambling to find a place to live after new ownership, Cloud 9 Property Management, notified them that their rent would nearly double.
“The information that we were given was just taped to our doors,” said Jason Blakey, who has been living at Twin Oaks Apartments for eleven years. “Your rent is now basically going to be doubled, and either sign this lease now or vacate. It doesn’t really give anybody a lot of time to rebound from that.”
A series of three notices on his front door changed the course of Blakey’s future. He and his neighbors were given what they call an “ultimatum” — sign a new lease for double their rent or vacate at the end of their lease term — on Aug. 23. And for those who are renting month to month, they must leave by the end of August.
“My rent went from $560 to $1,100. And that is rent — that’s not including utilities,” said Blakey. “I had a whopping eight days. That doesn’t give me my base 30 days by law to get myself and get going.”
Blakey, who has been renting month to month since 2018, is now packing up his things for a storage unit and looking for places to couch surf.
He is also helping his roommate gather his things to leave, as well as his father who lives one floor below him.
“I get it, you’re trying to make money, you’re trying to run a business. I get that, but we’re still people,” said Blakey. “I think it’s a kick in the teeth to be honest.”
Not only does Blakey feel blindsided by the short notice, but he also does not think his unit is worth $1,100. Tenants have dealt with numerous maintenance issues, including unstable floors, broken outlets, dirty vents, HVAC complications and more.
“Basically slumlord living,” said Blakey. “Whatever it does to save money is what the previous owner would do.”
Another long-term tenant, Hailey Schipper, says even if people are okay with the conditions, many are being forced out anyway with the new ownership raising rents.
Most of her neighbors live paycheck to paycheck or on rental assistance and fixed income.
“Him being the landlord of this property, they could’ve given us all a notice. 'Hey, I’m thinking about selling the place,' you know, try to figure out what you’re gonna do or sign another lease so you’re locked in on this price,” said Schipper.
Tenants say it has been a struggle getting anybody on the phone and the old landlord packed up his things and left the premises without any notice or goodbye.
KSHB 41 tried knocking on the door of the management office, but found no response.
A few of the tenants say they received a text response from the new management saying they would now have until Oct. 1 to make their decisions, but they say it has caused more confusion than clarity.
Schipper asked, “Why should I put money in their pocket when they’re doing this to my family?"
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