Tenants in Akron, NY are facing serious turmoil with their living conditions. For the past three months, about half of the residents of the Akron Mobile Home Park Tenants Association have been withholding their rent payments and have been keeping them in escrow. They want their new real estate company to know that they are willing to pay as long as they hear their concerns. This company is based out of Florida and since taking ownership of the mobile home park have made a lot of unhappy residents.
Buffalo landlord tenant attorney Robert Friedman spoke to the tenants during a meeting to discuss this issue offering them legal advice about how they might want to proceed in a way that would give them the results they are hoping for. They are concerned about the 36% rent increase, higher water bills that don’t seem to be linked to more water usage, as well as declining quality of property maintenance. They say that the maintenance this winter has been below standard. These tenants have received a 30 day notice that they are delinquent on their payments and that they may be evicted.
A piece of advice they are considering is that they buy up the park and run it the way they want it to be run. This is not an unheard of practice and could be done successfully under the right circumstances and guidance. The writing is on the wall for mass eviction. These tenants are very displeased, especially considering that in two years their rent could double under this new ownership. However, the tenants feel that this battle can be won despite the company claims that the increases are necessary to prepare for future improvements.
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