Dozens of renters and housing advocates turned out at an Alexandria courthouse Wednesday to rally in support of tenants at Southern Towers, a five-building apartment complex that’s now in the third month of a rent strike sparked by the coronavirus crisis.
The group called on Virginia officials to cancel rents and suspend eviction proceedings. Many renters are experiencing widespread layoffs, while enhanced federal unemployment benefits are slated to expire later in July, barring quick action by Congress.
More than 50 Southern Towers tenants were set to face eviction hearings Wednesday, after proceedings resumed in late June, owing to a Virginia Supreme Court order. Roughly 30 other tenants at the complex were scheduled to appear at eviction hearings last week, according to an activist who works with the residents, and more than 100 tenants have been sued by their landlord.
Although the tenants are allowed to seek 60-day delays in their eviction cases—provided they can prove they’ve lost income because of the pandemic—many are uncertain about how they’d pay their bills after that period. Sami Bourma, a Southern Towers tenant who was laid off as a chef in March and has helped organize the residents, previously told WAMU/DCist that some of his neighbors were left with little money after losing their jobs in the early days of the crisis.
“No job? No rent. That’s what we demand right now,” he said at the time.
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Last month, the company that manages Southern Towers said it had taken a number of steps to assist struggling tenants, including extending due dates for rent, waiving late fees, and offering payment plans. Still, the company was sending five-day notices to tenants who were behind on rent to pay what they owed or face eviction. (The notices didn’t mention that Virginia evictions were then on pause.)
“We take compliance with all the relevant state and local regulations very seriously,” a spokesperson for the company, Bell Partners, said in a statement.
Whether any renters at the complex are ultimately kicked out remains to be seen: A judge must issue a court order for evictions to be physically carried out by authorities. Tenants and housing advocates across the U.S. say they fear a tidal wave of evictions will hit renters once legal bans on the practice lapse and as the coronavirus recession keeps renters out of work.
