CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mass evictions are happening at two different properties in Charlotte at the same time.
WCNC Charlotte has been following the situations at the Tanglewood Apartments in north Charlotte and the Lamplighter Inn in west Charlotte for weeks. Both places said they're under new ownership and have begun to remove residents from those properties.
Attorneys at Legal Aid of North Carolina are helping tenants facing evictions. The group hopes to help residents avoid getting eviction filings on their records and know their rights in case they’re kicked out illegally.
"Every day we wake up, we gotta worry about somebody knocking on the door demanding you to get out," Genece Wilson, a Lamplighter Inn resident, said. "They're not giving us notice that it's new owners, that it was sold, they're not doing any of that."
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The Lamplighter Inn and the Tanglewood Apartments house low-income residents and are trying to evict them.
"When a new owner comes in and takes over a property, whether it's a hotel or an apartment complex, they are required to provide certain notices to the tenants in order to have them removed from the property," Justin Tucker, Charlotte Housing Manager for Legal Aid NC, said.
Tanglewood residents received a 30-day notice on their doors, but Lamplighter Inn residents said they have not received any formal notices.
Tucker told WCNC Charlotte many hotel landlords aren’t familiar with state laws, so they try to do self-help evictions, which include, "disconnecting the key card, disconnecting utilities, changing locks on a tenant's door."
Self-help evictions are illegal in North Carolina.
"Any time a landlord wants to get a tenant out of the property, they have to go through the court process," Tucker explained.
Tucker said tenants getting illegally evicted can call Legal Aid or file a complaint at the county courthouse.
When filing a complaint, Tucker said tenants can request the court for a temporary restraining order to force the landlord to stop taking self-help actions and follow the judicial process.
While complaints could get tenants compensation through civil courts, there’s little recourse to hold landlords accountable.
"Unfortunately, the landlord could get off completely scot free," Tucker said.
A crisis team is helping Tanglewood Apartments tenants, and advocates are working to deploy help to Lamplighter Inn.
Legal Aid is holding an information session at Lamplighter Inn this Sunday to help residents understand their legal options and next steps.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.