"At this point, I'd have no option but a shelter"
Michelle has lived in her current home in south St. Pete for a little over 6 years. In February, her home was purchased for $88K by a land trust linked to Demeter Properties, a Tampa-based "Local Woman Owned Boutique Real Estate Company". Demeter is in the business of renovating and flipping homes, taking advantage of neighborhoods with lower property values, leading to the displacement of low income renters holding out in some of the last affordable areas of the city. A Demeter property just down the street from Michelle is listed at nearly half a million dollars.
A Demeter Properties listing in Michelle's neighborhood
After failing to fulfill Michelle's repeated maintenance requests upon acquisition of the property, Demeter declined to renew Michelle's month-to-month lease agreement in July, giving her just three weeks to vacate the property. Under Florida law, landlords are only required to give a minimum of 15 days notice to vacate for tenants on month-to-month agreements. After August 1st, Michelle became a holdover tenant and an eviction complaint was filed against her in the Pinellas county court on August 5th.
Despite our organization's request for Demeter to give Michelle at least 6 months to vacate considering the highly competitive rental market, Michelle's age and the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the company refused to respond or comply. Demeter's lack of compassion and basic human decency is representative of the cut-throat culture of Big Real Estate, enabled by our capitalist economic system which prioritizes the profits of a minority class of owners over the lives of seniors and working class families.
Michelle is on a fixed income and currently pays $800 a month on rent, comprising about two-thirds of her monthly expenses. With no car, Michelle relies on the close proximity of her home to public transit; she is just a few blocks from the Grand Central bus station. Despite an explosion of new construction and an increase in housing stock nearby, the cheapest apartments in these new "luxury" developments are priced at double of what Michelle currently pays. Some market cultists and industry technocrats theorize that the proliferation of new luxury units will stabilize or even lower rents across the board, a barbaric trickle-down theory masked in a progressive veneer. In reality, the lack of housing units priced for our poorest residents is actively contributing to the displacement of low income residents from the neighborhoods they reside.
It's clear that there is no market solution to the housing emergency here in the Sunshine City. It is unconscionable that our elders and working families are spending sleepless nights in fear of losing the roof over their heads. The market has never, and will never, guarantee housing for all members of our community. We must look to solutions that involve major public investment and establishment of a robust social housing program, similar to wildly successful programs in places such as Vienna and Singapore, where residents of all income levels share living spaces. As long as our elected officials allow Big Real Estate to dictate public policy and redevelop our city solely for wealthy transplants, we are only going to see more displacement, greater income inequality, decreased quality of life and trauma in working neighborhoods, especially those in south St. Pete.
We have gotten Michelle in touch with Gulfcoast Legal and are working to buy her some more time to stave off her eviction and find a new living space.
Tell the folks over at Demeter Properties how you feel about them evicting elderly residents during a deadly pandemic:
813-226-0687
info@thedemetergroup.com
Twitter: @DemeterProp
Instagram: @DemeterProperties
Facebook: @DemeterProperties
Michelle is on a fixed income and currently pays $800 a month on rent, comprising about two-thirds of her monthly expenses. With no car, Michelle relies on the close proximity of her home to public transit; she is just a few blocks from the Grand Central bus station. Despite an explosion of new construction and an increase in housing stock nearby, the cheapest apartments in these new "luxury" developments are priced at double of what Michelle currently pays. Some market cultists and industry technocrats theorize that the proliferation of new luxury units will stabilize or even lower rents across the board, a barbaric trickle-down theory masked in a progressive veneer. In reality, the lack of housing units priced for our poorest residents is actively contributing to the displacement of low income residents from the neighborhoods they reside.
It's clear that there is no market solution to the housing emergency here in the Sunshine City. It is unconscionable that our elders and working families are spending sleepless nights in fear of losing the roof over their heads. The market has never, and will never, guarantee housing for all members of our community. We must look to solutions that involve major public investment and establishment of a robust social housing program, similar to wildly successful programs in places such as Vienna and Singapore, where residents of all income levels share living spaces. As long as our elected officials allow Big Real Estate to dictate public policy and redevelop our city solely for wealthy transplants, we are only going to see more displacement, greater income inequality, decreased quality of life and trauma in working neighborhoods, especially those in south St. Pete.
We have gotten Michelle in touch with Gulfcoast Legal and are working to buy her some more time to stave off her eviction and find a new living space.
Tell the folks over at Demeter Properties how you feel about them evicting elderly residents during a deadly pandemic:
813-226-0687
info@thedemetergroup.com
Twitter: @DemeterProp
Instagram: @DemeterProperties
Facebook: @DemeterProperties
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