Byrneport Apartments residents displaced for over a month

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Residents at the Byrneport Apartments say they have spent the last month moving from hotel room to hotel room while their units undergo renovations.

The residents say their property managers told them they had to be displaced for the work. They say they were given an ultimatum: pack up and move to a hotel paid for by management, or take a check for $600.

Several residents, who wanted to remain anonymous, say they have lived in two different hotels in the last month while still paying rent.

“I’m being displaced, so why would I have to pay rent for a place that I’m not at?” one resident said.

The first hotel was in Rossford and these residents say it did not have a kitchen, only a mini fridge and microwave.

“I’ve ran through my food stamps from being in the other hotel and spending so much on TV dinners,” one resident said.

One resident says his 4-year-old daughter has autism and hasn’t been to school in weeks because of transportation issues.

“It’s usually a 2-3 mile drive for us, which turned into a 10-plus mile drive when we were out in Rossford,” the resident said. “I can’t afford the gas and we’re on a very limited income.”

A few days ago, the residents were moved to the Extended Stay in Holland, with one-bedroom units for two adults and children.

“It’s hectic, my granddaughter isn’t sleeping, I’m not sleeping because you know she can’t get comfortable,” one resident said.

A spokesperson for Independent Management Services, the property management company, said residents were told they would be able to move back within 30 days, but there were delays with the city’s ready-for-occupancy inspections. The spokesperson said the goal is to get the residents back home on Friday.

The spokesperson also said residents who did not have a kitchen were supposed to be offered money for meals each day. The residents said they didn’t receive any money.

The spokesperson says the original hotel in Rossford overbooked, which is why the residents had to be moved again. He says they were given an option for a stipend instead of the second hotel, but the residents say that the check wasn’t enough money to cover a different room.

The spokesperson says some residents have already begun moving back in and as soon as the proper inspections are done, these residents can move back in.

“We just want to go home,” one resident said.

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