Florence tenants want lease termination extension

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAFF) - Residents in a Florence apartment complex are looking for a new place to stay after they were served with a termination of lease notice.

Tenants say their apartments are under siege from rats.

“We’ve been living with the rats for about four months now,” said Cody Vibbard.

Cody Vibbard lives in Regency Arms apartments. Vibbard shared a video with WAFF 48 of rats and rat feces in his unit, over the last few months.

“For the past month, they’ve been eating our water lines, causing the bathroom to flood. They leave rat feces behind everywhere,” said Vibbard.

Just a few days ago, they didn’t have running water because he says rats chewed through the pipes.

“Every day it’s just getting worse and worse and worse,” said Vibbard.

Last week, every tenant, including the Vibbard’s were given termination notices. They’re forced to leave the apartment in a matter of weeks.

“I don’t think that was the right answer to this situation. I mean nobody wants to stay here and live with the rats, but at the same time it’s very difficult to find somewhere to move right now and a lot of us don’t have the money right now,” said Vibbard.

So we called the landlord to get answers.

He said the terminations were sent because owners are renovating the property. Renovations, the landlord said, have been in the works for two years.

“It’s just time to do the upgrades and what we did is, we felt like not asking them to leave during the holidays. We have to put out the notice.”

Vibbard said he wants an extension of the termination of the lease because of what he says is a continued rat problem.

“Just to give people a chance to have time and look because right now you’re not giving people enough time to find somewhere to go,” said Vibbard.

Attorneys tell WAFF, landlords have to serve an eviction notice if they want tenants to leave.

As of now, we know, that eviction notice hasn’t been given.

Copyright 2021 WAFF. All rights reserved.