Barbara Brown has a hotel room paid for by her church through Friday. After that, she doesn't know where she'll sleep. Brown is one of dozens of Milwaukee tenants still scrambling for stable housing weeks after city inspectors ordered them out of their apartments near 23rd and Michigan over severe safety violations.
Milwaukee's Department of Neighborhood Services shut down the two buildings at 2319 and 2327 W. Michigan St. on Sept. 23, giving tenants roughly 30 minutes to grab their belongings and leave, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Inspectors found tampered electrical systems, defective fire systems and blocked fire doors in both buildings, per the department. Reports on the scale of the displacement have varied — the Journal Sentinel put the number at approximately 40 people, while TMJ4 reported at least 40 people were out of their homes, and Wisconsin Public Radio reported that 40 of the 60 combined units across the two three-story buildings were inhabited.
Families Left Scrambling for Shelter
According to WISN 12 News, anchor and reporter Kendall Keys found residents still on the brink of homelessness weeks after being forced out. Brown told the station her church covered five nights in a hotel, but that help runs out Friday, and she said she plans to keep calling shelters in hopes of finding a bed. “I want to see more resources for when stuff like this happens to people. There’s got to be a better way,” Brown said, according to WISN.
Chelsea Benson, who lived in one of the buildings with her two daughters, moved into another property managed by Smart Asset Realty, the third-party manager for the shuttered buildings. But Benson told WISN she's now stuck owing money for a new security deposit and October rent while still waiting on the refund of her old deposit, even as Smart Asset Realty has said it refunded residents' old deposits. “I’m not understanding, why are y’all charging us and charging me when you know this is not our fault?” Benson said, per the station's report.
Owner Tied to Years of Complaints
City records show the buildings are owned by S2 Real Estate 2319-2327 Michigan LLC, an entity tied to Sam Stair, according to city officials cited by TMJ4. That same TMJ4 investigation found years of complaints and enforcement activity tied to the properties, including cases over building disrepair, no-heat complaints, order violations and life-safety inspections.
Smart Asset Realty has said it is repairing the buildings in line with city orders, and the company told FOX6 News it had transferred a majority of tenants to other apartments and was helping some remaining tenants recover their security deposits as of Oct. 1. The company said repair work including planned HVAC and plumbing fixes, along with efforts tied to restoring electricity for fire-safety work, was continuing. WISN reported that the company offered residents open houses to view available units at its other managed properties; WPR and TMJ4 reported arrangements for tenants to retrieve belongings. But per the most recent WISN report, Smart Asset Realty did not provide an answer about financial or lodging assistance after the forced move-out, and the company says it still lacks a timeline for when the buildings will be safe to inhabit.
No Clear Return Date
Accounts differ on when tenants might go home. TMJ4 reported that management hopes residents can return within about two weeks, while a city official told WPR, “I can't give a timetable on when residents might be able to return.” Community Advocates has said qualifying displaced tenants can get help finding a new place and have move-in costs covered after a background check and approval, per WISN.
Milwaukee's broader Year of Housing initiative notes that CDBG funding has helped provide emergency housing for more than 13,000 residents over the past five years, according to the City of Milwaukee. Under Wisconsin law, landlords are generally required to return a tenant's full security deposit, minus lawful deductions, within 21 days of a triggering event such as a tenant vacating on the termination date, according to the Wisconsin Legislature. City guidance also states that once a property is placarded, it must obtain a new occupancy certificate, with repair permits and that certificate ideally applied for before any repair work begins, per the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services. For Brown, Benson and others still displaced, those rules offer little clarity on when — or whether — they'll be able to return to the only home many of them had near 23rd and Michigan.
