MILWAUKEE — The owners of an apartment company have reversed course on a plan to relocate families after they originally told tenants they needed to be out of their apartments by the end of the month.
“It’s a whole bunch of families with kids that have to find a place in 28 days. That is hard to do,” said Valerie Giles.
Giles first met with TODAY’S TMJ4 on February 5 at a property along Good Hope Road. It was days after she received the notice of the new Berrada Properties ownership and to relocate. The purpose was to make room for renovations on-site.
She signed a new lease with the apartment’s previous owners, DAK Properties, just weeks before the sale.
“The day after we got that letter, we got a 28 day to vacate notice,” Giles said.
The notice Giles received cited Section 704.19 of the Wisconsin Statute, which reads: Notice necessary to terminate periodic tenancies and tenancies at will.
Attorney Chris Hayden of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown said since Giles is under a lease, she doesn’t fall into the category.
“From the limited information I’ve reviewed, this was not a periodic tenant,” Hayden said.
TODAY’S TMJ4 reached out to Berrada properties with no response.
Friday, Berrada Properties confirmed with Giles’ representatives they were rescinding the notice sent to Valerie, as well as two others, and will honor the leases.
Anyone dealing with renter-tenant issues can reach out to Community Advocates here or LegalAid here.
