Tenants win first round against illegal evictions

Residents of the Wellington Commons on Detroit’s west side have won the right to remain in their apartments for another month. After receiving an informal letter from management on July 9 stating that they would be required to leave the following day, the tenants began to ask why they should have to move because of financial problems faced by the building owners.

Organizers from the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions went to the apartment building to inform the tenants of their rights and encourage them to struggle against the eviction. The coalition issued a news release and attracted the local NBC-TV affiliate, which covered the struggle extensively from the evening of July 9 through July 10.

When a representative of the management company arrived at Wellington Commons after 11:00 a.m. on July 10, he was questioned by tenants, journalists and members of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition. A spokesperson for Elite Property, the management firm now controlling the building, said that it was not true that tenants had to leave by July 10.

Also, the management firm acknowledged that DTE Energy would not shut off the utilities services on July 10. The Elite Property representative, who identified himself only as “Bob,” said the company wanted to place the residents in other apartment buildings it manages.

“Bob” told the Pan-African News Wire that the apartment building was owned by a hedge fund from New York and that the firm had decided to go out of business. One resident of the Wellington Commons told the PANW correspondent that a firm called Stillwater Capital was actually the owner.

Later two officers from the Detroit Police Department arrived and went into the building to talk with the management. The cops later told the residents that the owners of the building owed over $100,000 in past-due utilities bills.

The actual amount of the bill could not be substantiated. Moreover, this was not the fault of the tenants, whose utility costs are included in their monthly rent payments.

Later, the representative of Elite said that any resident could move into another building supervised by the firm without paying a deposit.

The epidemic of foreclosures and evictions is a serious problem in Detroit and throughout the United States. In many cases, where people rent homes and apartments, tenants are not aware of the financial difficulties facing the owners. When they are ordered to move by the management firms that take over operations, many residents are not aware of their rights.

A great number of the evictions that are carried out by the private interests controlling the properties are in fact illegal because they are not conducted through the courts.

According to government statistics, more than 4 million people have lost their jobs since late 2007. Altogether nearly 30 million workers are either unemployed or underemployed. The rate of foreclosures increased by more than 30 percent during the first quarter of 2009.

These problems reflect the need for a declaration of an economic state of emergency in Michigan and throughout the country. A general moratorium on all foreclosures and evictions in the U.S. is needed.