Tacoma apartment complex forcing tenants out

TACOMA, Wash. — An apartment complex in Tacoma is forcing all of its tenants to move and dozens of families fear they may end up homeless.

After the complex was sold last week, residents at the Tiki Apartments on South Highland Avenue received a letter on the same day stating that there would be a "major renovation." The notice letter says tenants need to vacate as early as April 30.

The letter was terrifying for tenants like Sarah Howe.

"I'm in a wheelchair and I'm totally blind," she says, "I need a place to live and I don't know what I'm going to do."

Howe says she doesn't have anywhere else to go. The apartment complex is now being managed by Allied Residential. It's offering residents a one-time relocation fee of up to $900 but some tenants like Phil Coleman say it's simply not enough in a housing market as pricey as Tacoma.

"It's hard to make ends meet out there because the cost of being in a one or two-bedroom apartment is ridiculous," he said.

According to Washington state law, it's legal for landlords to give tenants notice because in this case, tenants rent month to month. Howe says that's not fair.
"They can't do this to us but it's legal. They're getting away with it and putting the disabled on the street," she said.

She's one of 60 tenants now scrambling to find another place to live. Some tenants have small children, medical issues and disabilities.

The notice letter states that the "major renovation" could last a few months but did not say if the current tenants would be able to come back. KIRO 7 was unable to reach Allied Residential on Thursday.

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