As the Florida foreclosure crisis continues to hit property owners, including landlords, renters are often the most vulnerable and least considered.
For three weeks, tenants of Golf Villas apartment complex in New Smyrna Beach, FL were forced to live without water after the owner of this 20-apartment complex inhabited by working class families went into foreclosure and failed to pay the water bill. Tenants had been paying their rent, and were never informed of the foreclosure or neglected water bill.
When the water was cut off, many tenants self-evicted themselves while others purchased bottled water to get by. Residents brought the issue to the City Commissioners, but Commissioners were reluctant to urge the Utilities Commission to work with these tenants to turn the water back on.
Members of the Central Florida Jobs with Justice coalition came together with tenants to fight back. Local faith and community leaders, students, and labor leaders from the Volusia/Flager County AFL-CIO held a press conference to build pressure on the Utilities Commission to follow through with legal proceedings to appoint another person responsible for the account so tenants could have running water. After the press conference, the Utilities Commission met with advocates and started working on getting the water turned on.
However, even after legal process was complete, the Utilities Commission stalled on turning the water back on. A representative from the Utilities Commission stated, “So what, what’s another night without water?” Our response, “Another night without justice!” Residents finally got the water turned back on less than 24 hours after the press conference.
Due to the major oversights of responsible parties in this incident, residents are owed up to triple-pay in rent plus damages.
This was a small but powerful example of how solidarity makes all the difference in winning. One resident asked “What does it take for people like me to get justice?” Our response, “Whatever it takes, we’ll be there!”
Denise Diaz is an organizer for Central Florida Jobs with Justice.
