People who live in South Knoxville apartments deemed unfit for habitation by the city are in a potential rush to find a place to move. The situation has highlighted a shortage of affordable housing in Knoxville, as tenants are unable to find available apartments within a similar inexpensive price range.
This week the city's department of engineering posted notices on the doors of tenants of the Southernaire apartments on Avenue B. A sewage leak beneath the building saturated the rear lot of the property. Tenants said they have 30 days to move out.
A man named Shiran Brodt arrived at the building Wednesday afternoon and claimed to be the owner of the apartments. He did not want to speak on-camera, but said the sewage problem will be fixed and expressed confidence the tenants will not have to leave. He also objected to the original reports that stated the owner was a Florida-based Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). Brodt said his LLC was originally registered in Florida when he lived with his family in Miami, but told 10News he now lives in the area and has registered the corporation with the State of Tennessee as of 2018.
10News was unable to reach anyone with the city to confirm whether residents will be allowed to stay at the building.
Wednesday morning, the uncertainty of the situation was apparent when speaking to tenants.
"They've got raw sewage leaking out the back [of the building]. They've got a hole down here [beneath the foundation] that runs from one end of the apartment building to the other. So, we've got to get out of here. We've got nowhere to go," said 68-year-old tenant Steven Thomas, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam.
Steven Thomas and his 65-year-old brother, Glenn Thomas, live together at the one-room apartment. The siblings give each other grief the way you'd expect from a couple of brothers who served in two different branches of the military.
"He was in the Navy. I was in the Army Special Forces, the Green Berets out of Fort Bragg," said Glenn Thomas.
"Bless their hearts. We're brothers. We love each other, but we don't like each other," joked Steven Thomas.
The Thomas brothers rib each other, but have stuck together through military service in Vietnam, the death of relatives that forced them to leave their family home in Strawberry Plains, and four years of homelessness.
"My mother and oldest brother passed away. We used to pool our resources to afford where we lived. When they died, my brother and I tried to find a place in Knoxville. We were on the streets for years just trying to get by. We don't even have a car," said Glenn Thomas.
The brothers caught a break around a year ago when they were able to find an affordable apartment to rent at Southernaire. The $450 monthly rent takes a sizable chunk of their income, which is primarily from Social Security and retirement as a former state employee.
Even before the potential emergency eviction, the brothers said they wondered how they would afford to stay at their apartment because the owner notified them of a rent increase.
"They're going up on it $200. It was $450 a month. Now, it is going to be $650," said Steven Thomas.
"If we have to leave, we don't know where we're going to go. We don't know because everything around here, you cannot afford it and still eat, wash clothes and live," said Glenn Thomas.
CAC Knoxville said there is a clear shortage of relatively inexpensive housing throughout Knoxville. The city has spearheaded an effort to build more affordable housing options, but the availability has not caught up with demand.
""The rent has skyrocketed and many of our families that are low-to-moderate income simply can't keep up," said Misty Goodwin, director of client services for CAC Homeward Bound programs.
Goodwin said the rental market in Knoxville changed over the last decade when the recession of 2009 led to widespread foreclosures. People who once owned homes became renters. The market was flooded with people who rent instead of buy, and the forces of supply and demand led to soaring rental prices.
Goodwin said even though there are grants and voucher programs to help families with emergency housing, there are simply not enough places available.
"Families and individuals don't have the housing on the other end to use those vouchers. The vouchers are good for 120 days and they will be 119 days into a search for a place to live and have to return it," said Goodwin. "A lot of families are often faced with living in their cars. Some folks end up on the streets. But we also see a lot of people in hotels or doubled-up with other family members."
You can see the shortage of inexpensive rental property with a simple search on sites such as apartments.com. Search for a room that costs less than $500 a month and you get 40 to 50 results. Many of the listings are rooms at student apartments near the University of Tennessee with several roommates. Wherever the apartment is located, the overwhelming majority have no availability.
"We're afraid that we're going to wind up on the streets again and we're too old for that," said Glenn Thomas.
Steven and Glenn said they are hopeful the owner of the building can make repairs fast enough that they will not be forced to leave. Long-term, the only certainty is a dedication to tough it out together.
"You've got to watch out for each other. Cover each other's back, you know. We'll always be together," said Glenn Thomas.