dirty
EOG Master
Low-income Katrina victims face eviction
Tenants pushed out to make room for those with more money, lawyers say
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 25px">
Nicole Lacour Young / AP
A moving van sits outside the Watersmark apartment complex in Gulfport, Miss., on Tuesday. When the Watersmark advertised its "grand reopening" five months after Hurricane Katrina, the announcement stunned tenants who had been told just weeks earlier that they had to leave because the building was uninhabitable.
View related photos
<SCRIPT>var hasRelatedPhotos = 'false';if (hasRelatedPhotos=='true'){var vRPL = document.getElementById("viewRelatedPhotosLink");if (vRPL!=undefined) vRPL.style.display = "";var vLRPG = document.getElementById("linkRelatedPhotos");var vLIRPG = document.getElementById("linkImgRelatedPhotos");if (vLRPG) {if(vLIRPG) vLIRPG.href=vLRPG.href;}}</SCRIPT></TD><TD width="100%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3553566")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3553566/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3553566 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3553566 noWrap width=*> Hurricane multimedia
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3553566 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px">
MSNBC.com follows two towns as they rebuild after Katrina. Follow their progress through on-going stories and citizen diaries.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> MAPS OF THE REGION
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Rita: sea-level, refinery and political maps
? Animations of potential Houston flooding
? Katrina flyover: Block by block
? New Orleans: Before and after
? Newsweek: The view from above
? NOAA's view of the devastation
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> HURRICANE GUIDE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #cccccc 1px solid" width="50%">? What are they?
? Hurricane tracker
? By the decades
? Worst hurricanes
? Weather disasters
</TD><TD width="50%">? How to wind-proof
? Evacuation tips
? Health and safety
? Post-storm checklist
? Federal response
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> Most Popular
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE class=headlineList2 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab1 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FILTER: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Most Viewed</TD><TD><IMG height=1 width=2 scr="/images/cleardot.gif"></TD><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab2 style="FILTER: progid
XImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Test-Dev/sowmith/shadow.png', sizingMethod='scale'); BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/images/cleardot.gif); CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Top Rated</TD><TD><IMG height=1 width=2 scr="/images/cleardot.gif"></TD><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab3 style="FILTER: progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Test-Dev/sowmith/shadow.png', sizingMethod='scale'); BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/images/cleardot.gif); CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Most E-mailed</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab1_c vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Beware the door-to-door free breast exam guy
? Bush, Hu agree to disagree as friends
? Nepali protesters defy curfew; 3 killed
? Gonzales tells of child porn in graphic terms
? Find out the latest on ?Survivor?
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab2_c style="DISPLAY: none" vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Tiny reactor could boost biodiesel production
? Experts find evidence of Bosnia pyramid
? Black holes thrown in Einstein?s blender
? Astronaut Neil Armstrong gets moon rock
? Springsteen gets folky for ?Seeger Sessions?
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab3_c style="DISPLAY: none" vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Beware the door-to-door free breast exam guy
? Panasonic unveils biggest plasma TV yet
? Experts find evidence of Bosnia pyramid
? Bob Dylan to host satellite radio show
? Ex-Exxon CEO's massive pension draws fire
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT>pop_pushTabBox('boxB_3053751');</SCRIPT>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> RSS FEEDS ON MSNBC.COM
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>Add these headlines to your news reader
? After the Storms
? Learn more about RSS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Updated: 8:36 p.m. ET April 18, 2006
GULFPORT, Miss. - When the Watersmark apartment complex advertised its ?grand reopening? five months after Hurricane Katrina, the announcement stunned tenants living there in storm-damaged apartments.
Weeks earlier, they say, they were told by the management that they had to get out because the building was uninhabitable.
With the grand reopening, it suddenly became clear ?they wanted me out of here so they can remodel the apartment and raise the rent,? said Cassandra Plummer, who staved off eviction after her lawyer protested. ?The price is going to be way more than we can afford.?
Story continues below ↓ <HR noShade SIZE=1>advertisement <SCRIPT>ad_dap(250,300,'&PG=NBCMSN&AP=1089');</SCRIPT><IFRAME id=dapIf4 src="about:blank" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250></IFRAME>
<HR noShade SIZE=1>
Lawyers for low-income tenants say they have been fighting a wave of evictions since the Aug. 29 hurricane laid waste to tens of thousands of houses and apartments on Mississippi?s Gulf Coast. Accusations of housing-related price gouging also abound in Louisiana.
In some cases, attorneys claim, landlords are trying to capitalize on the region?s severe housing shortage by evicting poorer tenants to make room for those who can afford higher rents.
?It?s very disheartening,? said Rick Glassman, managing attorney of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. ?People are getting re-victimized. Not only are they getting evicted months after Katrina, but they?re getting evicted on very harsh terms.?
Allegations of price-gouging
Dozens of rent-related cases are being argued in courtrooms each week on the Mississippi coast, and Attorney General Jim Hood is investigating about 20 post-Katrina complaints of price-gouging involving rental properties.
?We saw a lot of that immediately following Katrina,? said Grant Hedgepeth, director of Hood?s consumer protection division. ?I hope we stopped most of it, but I?m sure there are complaints we don?t hear about.?
To date, none of the complaints against landlords has resulted in criminal charges. Hood said his office was able to resolve many cases with a warning.
In Louisiana, Attorney General Charles Foti Jr.?s office has fielded more than 450 complaints of housing-related price gouging since Katrina, said spokeswoman Kris Wartelle.
However, the attorney general has not filed any charges because the state?s price-gouging laws do not specifically address rents, according to Wartelle. A bill in the Legislature would close that loophole, she added.
?What we?ve done is try to mediate these complaints. In a lot of cases, we were able to come up with some sort of agreement between the parties,? Wartelle said.
Developers defend rent increases
In Mississippi, property owners are permitted to raise rents to cover the cost of repairs, but they cannot increase their profit margins during a state of emergency, such as the one still in effect in the state, according to Hood.
Kelley Cooper, vice president of Sandalwood Management of Austin, Texas, said the company spent up to $20,000 to repair and remodel each of Watersmark?s 72 units in Gulfport, and raised rents an average of $150 to $200 to cover those costs.
?It?s not like we have bottomless pits of money,? she said. ?We only have a finite amount of money in our pockets, as well.?
Seven of Watersmark?s original tenants ? including Plummer, who paid $470 a month before Katrina ? are still living at the complex. They were charged as little as $25 a month for rent for the first few months after Katrina, but those who stayed past January were told to pay their original, prestorm rents.
In September, the city of Gulfport warned landlords that it is illegal to force tenants out of their homes ?without cause or due process of law.?
?We were in pretty desperate straits back then,? said Harry Hewes, the city?s attorney. ?They were trying to put people out without going through the proper legal process.?
Although the volume of eviction cases has tapered off since October, courtrooms in Gulfport and Biloxi courtrooms are busy with such cases.
?We?re all looking for justice?
Harrison County Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain, who sits in Biloxi, said he will not allow landlords to evict tenants who cannot afford significant rent increases in Katrina?s wake.
?We?re all looking for justice,? Fountain said. ?I?m trying to be as lenient with them as I can, but you can only do so much.?
John Jopling, an attorney for the Center for Justice, has represented more than 40 tenants facing eviction from Katrina-damaged apartments, including some at Watersmark.
?There?s no place for these people to go. It?s not reasonable to expect people to just get out,? he said. ?We?re going to wind up with a huge social problem ? a volume of homelessness we never had before the storm.?
Laura Tuggle, managing attorney for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services? housing law unit, said poor residents in New Orleans face another problem: A growing number of property owners are cutting ties with federally subsidized housing programs.
?They can charge much higher rent in the private market, and they don?t have to deal with the red tape that goes with the federal government?s rules,? Tuggle explained.
? 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tenants pushed out to make room for those with more money, lawyers say
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 15px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 25px">
Nicole Lacour Young / APA moving van sits outside the Watersmark apartment complex in Gulfport, Miss., on Tuesday. When the Watersmark advertised its "grand reopening" five months after Hurricane Katrina, the announcement stunned tenants who had been told just weeks earlier that they had to leave because the building was uninhabitable.
View related photos<SCRIPT>var hasRelatedPhotos = 'false';if (hasRelatedPhotos=='true'){var vRPL = document.getElementById("viewRelatedPhotosLink");if (vRPL!=undefined) vRPL.style.display = "";var vLRPG = document.getElementById("linkRelatedPhotos");var vLIRPG = document.getElementById("linkImgRelatedPhotos");if (vLRPG) {if(vLIRPG) vLIRPG.href=vLRPG.href;}}</SCRIPT></TD><TD width="100%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3553566")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3553566/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3553566 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3553566 noWrap width=*> Hurricane multimedia
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3553566 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px">
MSNBC.com
</TD><TD class=boxBI_3553566>? Rising from RuinMSNBC.com follows two towns as they rebuild after Katrina. Follow their progress through on-going stories and citizen diaries.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> MAPS OF THE REGION
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Rita: sea-level, refinery and political maps
? Animations of potential Houston flooding
? Katrina flyover: Block by block
? New Orleans: Before and after
? Newsweek: The view from above
? NOAA's view of the devastation
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> HURRICANE GUIDE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #cccccc 1px solid" width="50%">? What are they?
? Hurricane tracker
? By the decades
? Worst hurricanes
? Weather disasters
</TD><TD width="50%">? How to wind-proof
? Evacuation tips
? Health and safety
? Post-storm checklist
? Federal response
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> Most Popular
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE class=headlineList2 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab1 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FILTER: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Most Viewed</TD><TD><IMG height=1 width=2 scr="/images/cleardot.gif"></TD><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab2 style="FILTER: progid
XImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Test-Dev/sowmith/shadow.png', sizingMethod='scale'); BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/images/cleardot.gif); CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Top Rated</TD><TD><IMG height=1 width=2 scr="/images/cleardot.gif"></TD><TD id=boxB_3053751_tab3 style="FILTER: progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Test-Dev/sowmith/shadow.png', sizingMethod='scale'); BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(/images/cleardot.gif); CURSOR: hand" align=middle evented="true">? Most E-mailed</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab1_c vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Beware the door-to-door free breast exam guy? Bush, Hu agree to disagree as friends
? Nepali protesters defy curfew; 3 killed
? Gonzales tells of child porn in graphic terms
? Find out the latest on ?Survivor?
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab2_c style="DISPLAY: none" vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Tiny reactor could boost biodiesel production
? Experts find evidence of Bosnia pyramid
? Black holes thrown in Einstein?s blender
? Astronaut Neil Armstrong gets moon rock
? Springsteen gets folky for ?Seeger Sessions?
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR><TR id=boxB_3053751_tab3_c style="DISPLAY: none" vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>? Beware the door-to-door free breast exam guy
? Panasonic unveils biggest plasma TV yet
? Experts find evidence of Bosnia pyramid
? Bob Dylan to host satellite radio show
? Ex-Exxon CEO's massive pension draws fire
? Most viewed on MSNBC.com
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SCRIPT>pop_pushTabBox('boxB_3053751');</SCRIPT>
<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT><LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT></SCRIPT><TABLE class=boxH_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR><TD class=boxHC_3053751 noWrap width=*> RSS FEEDS ON MSNBC.COM
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=boxB_3053751 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=boxBI_3053751>Add these headlines to your news reader
? After the Storms
? Learn more about RSS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Updated: 8:36 p.m. ET April 18, 2006GULFPORT, Miss. - When the Watersmark apartment complex advertised its ?grand reopening? five months after Hurricane Katrina, the announcement stunned tenants living there in storm-damaged apartments.
Weeks earlier, they say, they were told by the management that they had to get out because the building was uninhabitable.
With the grand reopening, it suddenly became clear ?they wanted me out of here so they can remodel the apartment and raise the rent,? said Cassandra Plummer, who staved off eviction after her lawyer protested. ?The price is going to be way more than we can afford.?
Story continues below ↓ <HR noShade SIZE=1>advertisement <SCRIPT>ad_dap(250,300,'&PG=NBCMSN&AP=1089');</SCRIPT><IFRAME id=dapIf4 src="about:blank" frameBorder=0 width=300 scrolling=no height=250></IFRAME>
<HR noShade SIZE=1>
Lawyers for low-income tenants say they have been fighting a wave of evictions since the Aug. 29 hurricane laid waste to tens of thousands of houses and apartments on Mississippi?s Gulf Coast. Accusations of housing-related price gouging also abound in Louisiana.
In some cases, attorneys claim, landlords are trying to capitalize on the region?s severe housing shortage by evicting poorer tenants to make room for those who can afford higher rents.
?It?s very disheartening,? said Rick Glassman, managing attorney of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. ?People are getting re-victimized. Not only are they getting evicted months after Katrina, but they?re getting evicted on very harsh terms.?
Allegations of price-gouging
Dozens of rent-related cases are being argued in courtrooms each week on the Mississippi coast, and Attorney General Jim Hood is investigating about 20 post-Katrina complaints of price-gouging involving rental properties.
?We saw a lot of that immediately following Katrina,? said Grant Hedgepeth, director of Hood?s consumer protection division. ?I hope we stopped most of it, but I?m sure there are complaints we don?t hear about.?
To date, none of the complaints against landlords has resulted in criminal charges. Hood said his office was able to resolve many cases with a warning.
In Louisiana, Attorney General Charles Foti Jr.?s office has fielded more than 450 complaints of housing-related price gouging since Katrina, said spokeswoman Kris Wartelle.
However, the attorney general has not filed any charges because the state?s price-gouging laws do not specifically address rents, according to Wartelle. A bill in the Legislature would close that loophole, she added.
?What we?ve done is try to mediate these complaints. In a lot of cases, we were able to come up with some sort of agreement between the parties,? Wartelle said.
Developers defend rent increases
In Mississippi, property owners are permitted to raise rents to cover the cost of repairs, but they cannot increase their profit margins during a state of emergency, such as the one still in effect in the state, according to Hood.
Kelley Cooper, vice president of Sandalwood Management of Austin, Texas, said the company spent up to $20,000 to repair and remodel each of Watersmark?s 72 units in Gulfport, and raised rents an average of $150 to $200 to cover those costs.
?It?s not like we have bottomless pits of money,? she said. ?We only have a finite amount of money in our pockets, as well.?
Seven of Watersmark?s original tenants ? including Plummer, who paid $470 a month before Katrina ? are still living at the complex. They were charged as little as $25 a month for rent for the first few months after Katrina, but those who stayed past January were told to pay their original, prestorm rents.
In September, the city of Gulfport warned landlords that it is illegal to force tenants out of their homes ?without cause or due process of law.?
?We were in pretty desperate straits back then,? said Harry Hewes, the city?s attorney. ?They were trying to put people out without going through the proper legal process.?
Although the volume of eviction cases has tapered off since October, courtrooms in Gulfport and Biloxi courtrooms are busy with such cases.
?We?re all looking for justice?
Harrison County Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain, who sits in Biloxi, said he will not allow landlords to evict tenants who cannot afford significant rent increases in Katrina?s wake.
?We?re all looking for justice,? Fountain said. ?I?m trying to be as lenient with them as I can, but you can only do so much.?
John Jopling, an attorney for the Center for Justice, has represented more than 40 tenants facing eviction from Katrina-damaged apartments, including some at Watersmark.
?There?s no place for these people to go. It?s not reasonable to expect people to just get out,? he said. ?We?re going to wind up with a huge social problem ? a volume of homelessness we never had before the storm.?
Laura Tuggle, managing attorney for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services? housing law unit, said poor residents in New Orleans face another problem: A growing number of property owners are cutting ties with federally subsidized housing programs.
?They can charge much higher rent in the private market, and they don?t have to deal with the red tape that goes with the federal government?s rules,? Tuggle explained.
? 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.