February 3, 2009
PEKIN — When Brandon Gray returned home to his apartment on Jan. 23, he was greeted by a surprise “landlord notice.”
“As of today’s date, there will no longer be water service for the building,” the note read. “Therefore you must arrange to vacate the premises, remove your belongings and arrange for other housing. NO ONE is allowed to occupy the property after Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009. All utilities to the building will be turned off on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, and all locks will be changed.”
Utilities have been an ongoing issue between building owners, a company named Z Squared Llc., and residents at the complex at 514 N. Fifth St.
Heat to Gray’s apartment and his girlfriend’s parents’ apartment, who live one floor below, has not worked “for years,” he said.
The latest issue arose when a frozen pipe burst, flooding the basement with water that eventually reached electrical panels, according to city code enforcement officer Ron Sieh. The rising water forced AmerenCILCO to kill electricity to the building for safety reasons. At the time of the landlord’s notice, the building was without water service and the electricity had already been cut by Ameren.
Gray, and his girlfriend’s parents, Karen and Mark Bohannan, admit that they have a spotty history of rent payments, but said that the landlord never insisted upon timely payment because they have been using an oven for heat, and have other utility issues. Pipes have burst before, sending water through the Bohannans’ ceiling, causing visible damage.
A number for Z Squared, given to the Salvation Army by the Bohannans, was answered by a woman who confirmed her employment with Z Squared but would not give her name.
“We’re financial strapped, personally,” the woman said. “We can no longer afford the building. We overextended our loans. There’s no money to repair. It’s been going on for years.”
She said the 16-unit apartment complex is for sale, and that the bank will not issue any more loans to fix the building.
“It’s been on the market for quite some time,” she said. “(Residents) were not paying rent, because of the pipe issue, I’d imagine.”
Beyond financing problems with the bank, owners of the property are also delinquent on more than $6,880 in 2007 taxes, according to the Tazewell County clerk’s office.
After a brief stay at some local shelters, Gray and the Bohannans have moved back to the apartment building, where electricity has been turned back on temporarily, and the locks were never changed.
The Salvation Army can pay for the first month’s rent in a new apartment for people in the Bohannans’ situation, Marlene Thomas of the Salvation Army said, but only once per year. The Bohannans were helped less than a year ago.
Heat for the apartment still does not work and there is no running water. Both Bohannans work at local Walmart stores, but they said their income is not enough to pay for a security deposit and first month’s rent for a new apartment.
They said other tenants of the building have moved out, and the landlord has now given them until Thursday to find a new place to live.
Sieh said until the utilities are fixed, anyone living in the building is violating city code.
“I don’t want another eyesore all boarded up in town,” he said. “(But) they can’t live there because there’s no utilities.”
Source:http://www.pekintimes.com/articles