A TENANT is living in fear that she may be homeless after being blindsided by an eviction notice on her apartment door.
Kayonda McGowan was shocked to see a note informing her that she needed to vacate her Michigan, home despite always paying her rent on time.
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McGowan had been living at Redstone Townhomes in Flint, about an hour outside Detroit, for a year and a half when she received the notice.
The letter, which was posted on every apartment door, stated all residents were being evicted due to inhabitable housing.
“When that letter got to me, I was very distraught and disturbed because I’m like, ‘Ugh, what am I supposed to do?’” McGowan told local NBC outlet WEYI.
McGowan has been living in the townhomes because the rent was affordable, and now she can’t find anything around the same price point.
She fears she may have to brave the bitter cold by sleeping in her car if she can’t find shelter soon.
“I have lived in my car before, but who wants to do that in the winter,” she said.
“It’s easier if it’s summer, but winter is hard. And it’s still cold out here.”
The eviction letter didn’t specify a move-out date, leaving residents scrambling.
McGowan, who paid rent through January, has been searching for a new home but has come into trouble meeting the required income for some residences.
“One told me I don’t make enough to qualify,” she said.
“But I told him, I would have been a great tenant. You know, I would have paid.”
Conditions at the townhomes have been worsening, McGowan said.
“You know, I would have paid, even though I don’t make enough, but I would have paid,” McGowan said.
She no longer has heat or hot water – but stayed because it was her only option.
The Redstone Townhomes have a history of issues, including lack of water and heat in some units.
“It was the only one that had accepted me because before I moved here, I was going through some things and so I had to find a place kind of like quickly.”
“So, and it was the only ones that were opened up and I was really grateful to them, but never did I think that I would be losing my home after a year and a half.”
Other residents are also struggling to find housing.
How common is eviction in the US?
Millions of households receive an eviction notice each year.
The Eviction Lab at Princeton University estimated that per 100 renting households, about 7.8 evictions were filed each year.
The Eviction Lab tracks filings across 10 states and 36 cities.
In a typical year, landlords file about 3.6 million eviction cases.
Source: The Eviction Lab
One tenant, who declined to be named, said they’re at their wit’s end.
“I’m just in a situation where, I kind of don’t know what to do,” a resident said.
Redstone Townhomes building management didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
For now, McGowan and others remain in limbo – uncertain of what comes next.
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