MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thursday attorneys for the City of Memphis and Peppertree Apartments appeared before a judge for a court hearing to give an update after hundreds of tenants received relocation vouchers due to apartment complex repair issues.
Attorneys for Peppertree Apartments, City of Memphis, HUD, and Memphis Housing Authority are working together to ensure all residents find better living conditions, especially since summer is right around the corner and school is coming to an end.
There were three main priorities addressed in the hearing: sanitation, safety, and security.
Attorneys for the City of Memphis showed updated photos of the current condition of the apartments, which showed debris, trash, and barricades that were compromised by people who do not live there.
Also, the city’s attorneys are working with the Memphis Fire Department to remove the stairwells from the standalone units so the vacant upper-level apartments will not be broken into.
Another request was that there be a heavier security presence and trash should be cleaned more often than every seven days; however, attorneys for the apartment complex said the funding would then become an issue since Peppertree does not have a lot of money coming into support.
The city’s attorneys provided updates on the number of tenants.
So far, the relocation contractor, Leumus interviewed 203 tenants. Of that number, the Memphis Housing Authority issued 168 vouchers.
52 tenants are still waiting on inspections, and 22 tenants are scheduled to move out.
There are 39 families, who attorneys said still have not had the chance to look into finding a place to move into.
City attorneys said they are offering landlords up to $1,500 to encourage them to accept tenants.
While this process is taking longer than expected, city attorneys said the changes are heading in the right direction.
We also asked attorneys with Peppertree Apartments for comment, and they denied. The next hearing is on June 1st at 9 a.m.