A tenant at Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma points to a dilapidated structure. (Photo by Deon Osborne / The Black Wall Street Times)

What began as a dispute between tenants and the management of Tulsa’s Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments over an unpaid water bill has turned into a scramble for housing after the fire marshal ruled the entire complex unsafe and gave tenants just a few days to get a new one to find home.

Months ago, Vista Shadow Mountain Apts., Which had seen several management changes in the other states just last year, blamed its tenants for an unpaid water bill to the city of around $ 100,000. For their part, tenants responded to local media, stating that they paid their bills on time. Tenants say the complex has suffered a lot of disruption and water closures in recent months with extreme delays in maintenance.

Last week the complex finally paid the overdue water bill. It lists Isaac Perlmutter, a New York-based executive member of P Vista Shadow Mountain LLC since January as the majority owner of the property, said the Tulsa world.

Tulsa Fire Dept. Rules apt. complex uncertain

Recently, however, amid visits to the dilapidated complex by lawmakers, city councils, and nonprofits concerned about the conditions, the Tulsa Fire Department inspected and issued a violation stating that residents must move by July 21st and property owners “properly secure” the building by July 28th.

“We encountered even worse conditions,” said TFD Assistant Fire Marshal, Captain Lorenzer Holmes KTUL. “As I said, walls are missing, ceilings not intact, open electrics, foundations are falling apart. Fire can spread very quickly and we can have a building fire very quickly. “

The impending removal of dozens of families comes as state lawmakers consider rethinking Oklahoma’s decade-old tenant and landlord laws. Many in the community have begun to highlight the way landlords and management companies outside of the state are taking advantage of Oklahoma’s loose regulations to the detriment of working class families.

Foreign landlords

“Tulsa has the nation’s eleventh highest eviction rate. It adds to the city’s homelessness problem and has crippling effects on families. Eviction is not just a symptom of poverty. The way some of these real estate professionals go about their business creates poverty, ”wrote Rep. John Waldron (D-Tulsa) in a recent publication op-ed.

Reporter with The Black Wall Street Times visited Vista Shadow in late June. When walking through the complex, many areas looked uninhabited and from the outside many units looked uninhabitable. We were able to see exactly the violations cited by the Tulsa Fire Department: open walls in homes with no blackboards, electrical hazards, open ceilings and other unsafe conditions.

The interior of a laundry room at the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Fire Marshall decided the complex is unsafe and gave tenants until July 21, 2021 to find new homes. (Photo by Deon Osborne / The Black Wall Street Times)

We spoke to Tenant who said they had no idea where they were going.

Jennifer: “I’m homeless”

Jennifer, who asked not to reveal her last name, had rented Shadow Vista for over a year. She was told to move out in early July and given less than two weeks’ notice.

“The maintenance here is really terrible. I was without air, without heat. My house was broken into and they did not come to fix the door. They just screwed it back together, ”said Jennifer The Black Wall Street Times.

She said she had lived with mold for months and no one came to fix it until she was notified that her lease would not be renewed.

“How they get me to leave is that they didn’t renew my lease. But they didn’t renew my lease because they knew they were preparing to let people out, ”said Jennifer.

“And my apartment has been moldy for over a year. They didn’t come to take it out until my lease expired. They just hung a note on the door. I have nowhere to go, “added Jennifer.

In a follow-up conversation on July 13th, we asked Jennifer if she had found any resources.

“No, I’m homeless,” she replied in a text message. “Me and my mother. She is disabled, [we’re] live out of my pockets. “

vista schattenberg tenants

The interior of a laundry room at the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Fire Marshall decided the complex is unsafe and gave tenants until July 21, 2021 to find new homes. (Photo by Deon Osborne / The Black Wall Street Times)

Renée: “Apts. hang by a thread “

We also spoke to a tenant who moved from an apartment that was damaged by water. Renee is a tenant who moved into Shadow Vista in February hoping to find a place quickly before her baby was born.

“At this point, I was around the 17th week of pregnancy and we had just moved in. We had a 850 square feet bedroom and they came up to us and asked if we were okay to vacate, ”Renee said The Black Wall Street Times.

Renee said they offered her family the option to terminate their lease and move out with good rental history. But with a baby on the way, Renee wanted a seat quickly, so they accepted a smaller studio unit at Vista Shadow Mountain Apts. Then there were water closures and disruptions week after week, with massive delays in maintenance and repair.

vista schattenberg tenants

“Don’t get me wrong, like I know they’re trying to get their shit together. And like they’re trying to renovate and stuff, but the way they do it with their tenants is dirty, ”Renee said.

Renee pointed this reporter at a banister next to her unit at Vista Shadow Mountain. The metal railing was so damaged it looked like the stairs might collapse at any moment.

vista schattenberg tenants

A tenant at Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma points out a ramshackle structure at Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa Fire Marshall decided the complex was unsafe and gave tenants until July 21, 2021 to find a new home. (Photo by Deon Osborne / The Black Wall Street Times)

“It’s like a metaphor for the apartment hanging by a thread,” said Renee, pointing to the dilapidated building.

Renee, like the rest of the tenants Vista Schattenberg until July 21st to find a new home.

Officials, non-profit organizations are working on the provision of resources, temporary housing

Especially non-profit organizations like Tulsa housing solutions and James Mission are working to accommodate people and provide moving supplies. The effort is supported by the city through Tulsa District 7 Councilor Lori Decter Wright. Shadow Vista is under their jurisdiction.

“The firefighter has determined that the fire department. will have a fire station here 24 hours a day and this unfortunately accelerates the need for these residents to move immediately, ”Wright said in a recently released update Tulsa world.

“We are working to set up some local hotels that will take these people in temporarily while they move to more permanent, stable accommodations that are healthy and safe,” she added.

Residents of Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments who still need an apartment to live can fill out a form by Tulsa Housing Solutions. James Mission continues to provide the residents with housing and can be contacted at website: http://www.jamesmission.org/

The city is also reaching out to local landlords who are interested in helping residents by encouraging them to fill out a form survey for the TAEO Director of Housing Development and Incentives.

vista schattenberg tenants

Metal hangs on a unit at the Vista Shadow Mountain Apartments in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa Fire Marshall ruled the complex was unsafe to live in and gave tenants until July 21, 2021 to find new homes. (Photo by Deon Osborne / The Black Wall Street Times)