Lawyers are investigating this MS Coast housing in disrepair, hoping to help tenants
Ongoing problems residents are experiencing in two Pass Christian subdivisions have prompted the Mississippi Center for Justice to host a clinic on tenant rights that is open to all.
Residents of Pass Estates and North Street Villas in Pass Christian, both developed by Clarence Chapman of Oxford, have complained about mold, holes in their floors, termite infestations, appliances that don’t work, bats in attics and more. Chapman built 166 elevated homes in the subdivisions after Hurricane Katrina with millions in federal grants or tax credits under programs designed to create housing for working families.
Residents have gone to another Chapman company, on-site manager Sentry Asset Management, requesting repairs.
“Sometimes, they don’t receive a response at all,” said Katya Matlock, a staff attorney with the Center for Justice who has been interviewing tenants in the subdivisions.
Attorneys for the Center for Justice are investigating the complaints.
Matlock and two other attorneys with the center say tenant rights are limited in Mississippi, but specific circumstances require landlords to make repairs and give tenants some recourse if those repairs aren’t forthcoming. The attorneys plan to cover how the law works during the tenant workshop.
The Know Your Rights Tenant Workshop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 4, at the J.W. Randolph Center, 315 Clark Ave., Pass Christian. It is open to the public. The Center for Justice and the Mississippi Center for Legal Services are hosting the workshop.
Progress on Pass Christian housing repairs
They’ll also talk about evictions, another issue tenants of the Pass Christian subdivisions have faced. A number of tenants say they were served eviction notices after they complained about conditions in their homes. Landlords can take tenants to court to evict them for nonpayment of rent and for other legitimate reasons, but the law does not allow eviction because a tenant has requested repairs.
Tenants of the subdivisions have dealt with repair issues for years, as Alderman Kenny Torgeson pointed out during a December board meeting where tenant Sarah Hampton complained about unsafe conditions in her family’s home, including gaping holes in the floor.
“You’ve only been here for a short period of time and you’re now dealing with all these problems but these problems have been going on now for seven or eight years,” Torgeson told Community Development Director Mark Savasta, who has worked to bring additional code office staff on board during his short time with the city.
While subdivision developer Chapman previously told the Sun Herald that tenants had caused most of the damage in houses that need repairs, tenants say some of the problems have been lingering since Hurricane Zeta in 2020. Chapman acknowledged that floors were being checked to determine why they were damaged.
On investigation, Savasta said, water intrusion during Hurricane Zeta apparently caused the flooring damage.
Savasta believes the city is making progress in getting some repairs completed. The city’s jurisdiction is limited to life-safety issues and code violations. Savasta said a contractor has pulled 23 permits to pull up subfloors and replace them with new floor decking, and 14 electrical permits have been issued so empty houses can be cleaned and otherwise fixed up to rent.
“I actually think things have improved dramatically,” Savasta said.
Do tenants have legal recourse?
Attorneys for the Mississippi Center for Justice continue to investigate issues with the housing to determine whether tenants have legal recourse. They will report their findings to the nonprofit company’s president and CEO, Vangela M. Wade.
“She’s aware of the issues and she gave us permission to begin this investigation,” said the center’s deputy director of housing law, Ashley Richardson.
One of the tenants who pressed the city and others for repairs in the subdivisions, Sarah Hampton, had decided to move when she was served with an eviction notice. Hampton had withheld part of her rent because of gaping holes in her floors.
However, under Mississippi law, the process for requesting and getting repairs does not include withholding rent. The workshop will cover the process tenants must follow for repairs.
Hampton and her husband, both law enforcement officers, packed up their family and she returned the key to the house in early February. She was scheduled to go to Justice Court later that morning on the eviction, which she thought would be canceled. However, the case proceeded without her and she was evicted. Hampton plans to appeal the decision.
