TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Spanish Trail Suites apartments recently had a fire that created power outages for several days. When KGUN 9 spoke with one resident, she said now, she has to leave her apartment within the next 30 days.
It's not the first time tenants have spoken about fear of retaliation from their landlords when they've spoken about the apartment issues. Nick Bruno, an organizer from the Tucson Tenants Union, said he has seen it first hand, especially after tenants were involved in rallies or union meetings.
“They said you know, almost immediately after we talked with them, they’ve been threatened by like, the maintenance crew," he said.
Brian Bowers has been the landlord for the Spanish Trail Suites for the last five years. He said when it comes to evictions, it has nothing to do with speaking out. He said the resident that was given the 30 day notice wasn't about them going to media.
"That's got nothing to do with anything. Her lease is recently up," he said.
He said evictions usually happen when the tenant fails to pay rent.
“The main reason is for non payment of rent which is not a retaliation issue,” he said. "I'm sure a few people would say they're scared. If they're scared, if they're behind on their rent, or, you know, did something or they broke some in their apartment. They don't want to admit to it. But, you know, I'd make it a point to know all my tenants and be able to talk to them."
But Bruno said when it comes to fear of speaking out, tenants should ban together and organize.
“There are different ways to go about it but there is power in numbers," he said.
He said the Tucson Tenants Union has resources on their website and holds workshops to educate tenants on their rights.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
