NORWOOD, Ohio — Sarah Hendley knew her Harper Avenue apartment building was changing hands at the end of February. She didn’t realize its future wouldn’t include her.
The new owner, a company called Prestige Rental, made the situation clear Thursday with a notice on her door: If she and the 20 other families who rent month-to-month aren’t gone by Feb. 29, they’ll be evicted.
“Everyone is very upset,” Hendley said Friday afternoon. “I can’t sleep. I know several of the people that I have talked to in the building can’t sleep, either.”
Hendley said she felt blindsided by the change, which was never discussed as a possibility before the sale became final. Renovations ordered by the new owners had already started by Friday.
Month-to-month renters comprise the majority of tenants in Hendley’s building, she added. Many have lived there for years — some for decades.
Although local property law allows landlords to evict month-to-month tenants as long as they provide a full month to find a new spot, Hendley said her neighbors felt their long histories with the building should count for more than the legal minimum.
“It’s an older community,” she said. “A lot of them are retired on a fixed income or single. They can’t afford to move. Norwood is getting more expensive to live here now.”
Prestige Rental did not return multiple requests for comment Friday.
