Over 1 in 10 Pinellas Renter Households are Currently Behind on Rent

As the CDC moratorium is set to expire this weekend on Saturday, July 31st, we are bracing for a possible spike in evictions here in Pinellas county. 

There are currently 2,130 open eviction cases in the county dating back to January of last year, according to data we’ve collected from the Pinellas Clerk’s website. The expiration of the moratorium may allow some of these cases to proceed, and there may be a spike in new eviction filings as the moratorium has likely discouraged many landlords from filing evictions to begin with. 

Pictured is data from a recent NYT editorial. 

According to this estimate, 14.7% of rental households are behind on rent in the US, with tenants owing an average of $3,800 in back rent. Over 1 in 10 Pinellas county rental households are behind on rent, owing $4,115 on average in back rent. Despite receiving $21.4 million from the federal government for emergency rental assistance, the Pinellas ERA only managed to distribute just $2.2 million to struggling tenants last month. It’s clear that this assistance isn’t getting out quick enough, and removing the moratorium before these funds are fully distributed will likely result in an unnecessary, fully preventable spike in evictions here in Pinellas county. 

Additionally, we are seeing a massive surge in new COVID-19 cases here in the state of Florida, with daily case totals now around what they were in January. Evictions and housing insecurity during so-called “normal” times are public health crisis; during a global pandemic this amounts to nothing short of a public health catastrophe. 

One study from UCLA showed that there were more than 10,000 preventable COVID-19 deaths before the establishment of the CDC moratorium last September. With totals surging once again there will likely be countless cases of preventable death, illness and trauma directly caused by our system’s violent and barbaric prioritization of profits over human lives. 

Housing is a fundamental human right that should be guaranteed. We must continue to work to shift our societies’ view of housing away from a regular commodity that can be withheld, and instead as a basic necessity that should be unconditionally afforded to all. 

As uncertain as the future may appear, we must continue to struggle alongside vulnerable tenants here in St. Pete and work to wrest power away from big real estate and back into the hands of regular folks who make up the backbone of our city. 

When we fight together, we win together. 

✊All power to the tenants! 

✊All power to the workers! 

✊All power to the people!

Press conference today at the Paradise Apartments

Terrence Gordon (pictured) was one of the residents facing eviction by Council Member Robert Blackmon.
 
Terrence, 62, told reporters “I’ve been homeless before, I don’t want to be homeless again”
This is the lived experience of countless individuals and families here in Pinellas county. Those experiencing the fear and trauma of eviction here on a daily basis are suffering in silence.
It goes beyond Robert Blackmon’s errors.
 
It goes beyond individual slumlords and gentrifiers.
 
Housing insecurity and homelessness represent deep moral failures of our society and of our Capitalist economic system. It is a failed system that has never, and will never, provide for the most vulnerable.
We need guaranteed housing here in the Sunshine City and in cities across the country.
 
Not affordable.
 
Not attainable.
 
Guaranteed.

Anything less is an injustice, and our Union will continue to struggle alongside our friends in neighbors against the exploitation and violence of landlordism.

All power to the tenants! All power to the people!

 The St. Petersburg Tenants’ Union and Florida Rising stand in solidarity with Paradise Apartments residents facing eviction by Robert G. Blackmon

On April 30, 2021, St. Petersburg City Council member Robert G. Blackmon purchased a 10-unit rental property at 330 45th Ave. S, known as the Paradise Apartments. Notices of non-renewal were issued to two tenants just 12 days later on May 11, giving them less than three weeks to vacate their homes. Another tenant was served a three-day notice for non-payment of rent. According to several residents, another tenant of 17 years was given just two weeks to move under Councilmember Blackmon’s management, and voluntarily complied. The eviction complaints for the other three residents were officially filed in Pinellas court on June 14. One case has already reached a final judgement, which opens the door for a writ of possession, or final eviction order, to be issued at any time.

Members of the St. Petersburg Tenants’ Union arrived at the location on June 20 to conduct an investigation. Through our observations and conversations with tenants, organizers were made aware of several critical maintenance failures involving the building's plumbing, electrical systems, and appliances. Organizers returned two days later with a letter demanding that these maintenance issues be rectified and that all evictions be voluntarily dismissed by Councilmember Blackmon. Organizers observed maintenance workers scrambling to make repairs, and residents informed us that the property manager, Carolee Blackmon, was aware of the activists’ presence and was "very unhappy". 

The demand letter was signed by four residents in total, and was co-signed by the Tampa Bay chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Pinellas Democratic Socialists of America, Rev. Andy Oliver of Allendale Methodist Church, and the Pinellas Democrats. Upon failing to receive the requested written response, an organizer was able to speak directly with Councilmember Blackmon, along with his mother, Carolee, who handles the day-to-day operations of Blackmon Properties.

Several activists spoke at length with Carolee, who insisted that it was not their "intention" to evict anybody. It should be noted that a writ of possession was served and a resident was recently evicted at another Blackmon Properties facility in West St. Petersburg on June 22, 2021. 

There were many contradictions present between what organizers heard from residents and the claims made by Carolee Blackmon. Based on these conversations, it is our belief that there was little, if any, effort exercised on the part of Blackmon Properties to improve conditions and work with residents who had been behind on rent prior to the involvement of the Tenants’ Union. Efforts have been made by Blackmon Properties to improve conditions, but there are still many unaddressed issues. On July 9, Carolee Blackmon informed us she had instructed their attorney to dismiss the three cases no later than July 16th. We consider this a major victory that can be directly attributed to the efforts of our Union and to collective tenant power. However, our work at the Paradise Apartments is far from over.

We believe, unequivocally, that housing is not a commodity, but a fundamental human right. Housing insecurity has been directly linked to reduced quality of life, systemic inequity, mental health trauma, and premature death. Any system which elevates the so-called property “rights” of career landlords and corporations above the right to safe, guaranteed housing for all residents is inimical to the values of a democratic society. 

The Sunshine City is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis of immense proportions. More than one-third of Pinellas families currently pay in excess of 40% of their income on rent. This puts low-income tenants at a major disadvantage in the rental market. It is, therefore, reasonable to believe that residents at the Paradise Apartments may not be able to secure stable housing if evicted and thrown suddenly into such a market.

Furthermore, we are still in a national state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dozens of new deaths and hundreds of new cases are still reported in our state each week, while less than half of all Floridians are fully vaccinated. Given these facts, we believe that Councilmember Blackmon's attempts to evict these tenants have the potential for deadly consequences. A recent study from UCLA estimated there have been roughly 10,000 additional Covid deaths due to evictions during the pandemic; more than three times the number of Americans killed on September 11. Adding to this urgency is the fact that the CDC has noted that members of the black community are twice as likely to die from Covid-19, and nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized because of the virus. It should be noted that all residents facing eviction at the Paradise Apartments are black.

We are calling on Councilmember Blackmon to unconditionally dismiss all eviction cases at the Paradise Apartments by Friday, July 16th as was promised. We also call for repairs and renovations to be completed in full, and for all tenants to be given the opportunity to sign long-term leases to lock in current rent prices, enabling them to continue to live at the property for years to come. We ask Councilmember Blackmon to do the right thing and be a champion for the people of St. Pete, not a champion for his personal enrichment. We will continue to struggle against the exploitation of these vulnerable tenants until our demands are met in full.

All power to the tenants! All power to the workers! All power to the people!

UPDATE: Osprey Pointe Apartments

Today, we completed our canvas of the Osprey Pointe Apartments here in St. Pete, knocking on the doors of some 500 units in total. We made numerous face-to-face contacts with residents, many of whom described the same sort of issues: slow and/or unfulfilled maintenance requests, leaks and water damage, rent and utility hikes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
“You can request maintenance but they won’t come out”

“Every time it rains the water comes right through the windows and floods everything”

“They want our money but they ain’t coming out to fix what needs to be fixed”

During today’s canvas, we made contact with one resident who had been given a notice to vacate and provided him information on how to apply for the Pinellas rental assistance program as well the Pinellas Eviction Diversion Program. “I’m not going to be able to pay this next month, and I’m already a month behind”. On another door we saw a fresh eviction notice, taped up and waiting for the resident after work.

From the outside, many of the buildings are dirty with paint chipping off of doors, missing and unsteady guard rails and signs of pest infestations.

One resident we met brought us inside and showed us a big hole in his bathroom ceiling. Every time his upstairs neighbors shower, water comes pouring in so he keeps a bucket down below. He said it has been like this for a year and nobody will fix it.

The Osprey Pointe Apartments are run by BH Management, a corporation who operates in 24 states plus D.C., and generates around a billion dollars in gross annual revenue. Between their 4 Pinellas county properties they’ve filed nearly 60 evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Executives at BH and their chairman, Iowa lawyer Harry Bookey, price apartments at Osprey Pointe at around $1,000/mo, while cutting corners by chronically maintaining the facility in order to keep their profits, and their salaries, sky high. They get RICH off the hard earned cash of Osprey Pointe residents, who pay a premium to live in substandard conditions. Mr. Bookey and the other BH executives sleep safe and comfortably in their mansions while they continue to kick people to the curb during a deadly, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.

 
We look forward to reaching out to residents again in the coming weeks to begin the next step of the organizing process. The residents of Osprey Pointe deserve so much better, and united together we can take the power back from these greedy crook landlords!

All Power to the Tenants!

All Power to the Working Class!

All Power to the People!

The Ongoing Failure of So-Called Eviction "Moratoriums"

As lockdowns were established to contain the spread of COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic, millions of tenants found themselves unable to pay rent due to job loss and other income disruptions. A number of eviction protections were established across the country by federal, state and local governments.

In Florida, a state moratorium on evictions was established by executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis and was effective between April 2-September 30, 2020. This was followed by the federal CDC moratorium on evictions, which began on September 4, 2020 and is currently still in effect until June 30, 2021, although a court decision briefly voided it for about a week last month. In addition, a limited moratorium on evictions at properties with federally-backed mortgages was in effect between March 27-July 27,2020 as part of the CARES act. In Hillsborough county, Sheriff Chronister announced his deputies would be suspending the execution of writs of possession there between March 18 and April 20, 2020. 

This patchwork of protections caused a lot of confusion over interpretation and enforcement, and began to fall apart as lockdowns were slowly lifted throughout the summer. On July 30, Governor Ron DeSantis narrowed the scope of the state moratorium to only include tenants who were "adversely affected" by COVID-19, and allowed eviction cases to proceed in the courts up until final judgement. 

Upon the expiration of the Florida moratorium on September 30th, Florida tenants were able to seek protection under the CDC moratorium on eviction. Unlike the Florida moratorium, in which protections were automatic, the CDC moratorium requires tenants to sign a sworn declaration that must be submitted to the landlord in order to receive protection. As was the case with the Florida moratorium, the CDC moratorium only applies to tenants who were adversely affected by COVID-19, and does not cover cases other than non-payment or protection from lease non-renewal.

In Pinellas county, landlords and their lawyers quickly moved to take advantage of the narrowed protections.

A subsequent spike in writs of possession ensued here in Pinellas county, with a whopping 438 writs issued in the month of October. A writ of possession, or final eviction order, directs the Sheriff to deliver possession of a property back to the owner. Deputies will post a notice like the one pictured below, which gives tenants 24 hours to vacate, and tenants who refuse to comply will be removed by force. Initial eviction filings would also reach their highest levels throughout the duration of the pandemic so far, with over 100 evictions filed on average per week between October 2020-Febuary 2021. 

Since April of last year, there have been 2,218 writs of possession issued in Pinellas county, along with a total of 4,353 eviction filings, according to data collected from the Pinellas Clerk of Court. There still around 2,000 open eviction cases here in Pinellas county dating back to January 2020.

It should be noted that some of the most aggressive eviction filers during the pandemic have been so-called corporate landlords, or career landlords, who manage numerous properties as their primary source of revenue. In Pinellas county, over half of the 4,353 eviction filings during the pandemic have come from companies, not individuals. Some of the top filers here include Dominium, BH Management and Radco, just to name a few. 

So why did our system fail to protect the people who needed help the most?

This is because our system is made to elevate property rights for some over human rights for all. Instead of enacting strong, effective protections for vulnerable tenants, our political leaders attempted to strike a "balance" between the health of the multi-billion rental industry and the health of you and your family, which resulted in deadly consequences. A recent study showed that evictions lead to an additional 10,000 deaths from COVID across the country. 

As working people, our lives are completely expendable in a capitalist system. There is nothing fair or free about a system which withholds basic necessities from some people in order to make other people extremely rich. The freedom of the ruling class, the CEOs and corporate landlords is based on our hard work, on our hard earned cash. 

We must demand more. 

We deserve better. 

And if they don't deliver then it is our duty to fight to take our power back. ✊🔥

A Message to Dominium and Paul Sween

Dominium is the 4th largest provider of so-called “affordable” housing in the US, managing over 30k units in 19 different states. In fact, according to its website, “the company expects to be the country’s pre-eminent private developer, owner, and property manager of affordable housing.”

What you might not know is that Dominium received a $3,785,200 PPP loan in April of 2020. The PPP program was designed for “small” businesses struggling during the pandemic, a label which a company like Dominium hardly fits. Recent reports show that GENUINE small businesses, many of which are black or minority owned, waited months to finally get a PPP. Large companies who shouldn’t have been utilizing the program, like Dominium, got their payouts early on in the pandemic.

Corporate freeloaders like Paul Sween, managing partner at Dominium, took MILLIONS of your tax dollars in order to grow his company and expand his wealth. Despite the fact t
hat these PPP loans were fully forgivable, Sween and Dominium REFUSE to forgive tenants who are struggling to pay rent as a result of the pandemic.

Dominium has filed nearly 

80 evictions at the Genesis Apartments here in Pinellas county. During a canvas operation at Genesis this past fall, members of our organization heard firsthand the stories of tenants experiencing severe income disruptions and a lack of empathy from building management, who was proceeding with evictions despite the CDC moratorium.

Mr. Sween, we have a message for you: you and your company can hide behind flowery messaging and performative charitable initiatives but we know who you, we know how you operate and we know what you’re doing to vulnerable members of our community.

You’ve probably never stepped foot in Pinellas county or the Genesis Apartments - the unrealized power of your tenants there is greater than you or your company will ever be.

Stop the evictions NOW or get your business the HELL OUT of our community.

All power to the tenants!All power to the working class!All power to the people!