TAMPA, Fla. — Monday was the deadline for dozens of renters to leave their homes at a North Tampa apartment complex.
The notices were distributed to some renters at Holly Court Apartments on New Year's Eve, giving them just one month to find a new home.
While some residents have vacated, others were still at the complex on Monday. They say, in the short timeframe, they still haven't found a new housing situation that meets their needs and fits their budget.
Holly Court resident Mya Lee is a mother to two girls under the age of two. She also lives with a partner, her mother and a cousin. She describes the last month as "awful," saying she hasn't been able to find new housing to fit her family's needs and income capabilities.
"There's not anything that we can do with the price range that we have, because there's six of us," Lee says.
She says her original apartment lease runs through July 2022, so she was shocked to get the one-month to vacate notice on New Year's Eve. She says for the past months, the apartment has been met with serious plumbing issues - brown dirty well water flowing into her home. Rather than fix the issue for her and her family, she says the property managers are kicking them out because of it.
"For some of the people I've talked to, this is the worst day of their lives," says Jae Passmore, a community activist. "Imagine having a child and not being able to tell that child where they're going to lay their head at."
Passmore is organizing a "sleep-in" protest, in which she and others will sleep outside the complex to raise awareness about the evictions and call on community leaders to take action.
"The people who don't have the resources to move are staying here," says Passmore. "We're asking that Palms Community LLC honor the original leases that these renters signed and also provide maintenance for these residents."
10 Tampa Bay could not reach Palms Community LLC for comment, and the residents we spoke with say they also can't reach the property managers.
"Text, [they] don't answer. Call, [they] don't answer. There is no email address," said Lee.
On Jan. 20, protestors gathered outside of the apartments to demand more time from the ownership company, Palm Communities, LLC. 10 Tampa Bay reached out to Palm Communities at that time as well and did not hear back.