Landlord's Unpaid $100K Electric Bill Leaves Building's Tenants In The Dark, Without Refrigerators, Elevators

In Highland Park, Michigan, WJBK-TV Channel 2 reports:

• Residents of the Highland Towers apartments say they've paid their rent, but they're being left in the dark. It's been more than a week since power to the building was shut off. DTE Energy admits it is a horrible situation, but they say the owners of the building owe $100,000 in unpaid bills.

• A small but spirited demonstration outside DTE headquarters was meant to shed light on a serious problem. Residents of the Highland Towers apartments have been living without power for more than a week. Latanya Lloyd is one of them. "It's not fair. I don't have money to just up and move somewhere again right now," she said. You can hear the emotion from tenants who have nowhere to turn.

• DTE says it had no choice but to kill the lights because the building's owner hasn't paid the utility bill in a year and owes $100,000. "The building is not shut down because the people that lived there were delinquent in paying their (bills)," Lloyd said. Residents have the receipts to prove it, but they're the ones stuck in the dark without lights, refrigerators and even elevators. Without the elevators, residents have no choice but to walk up and down a dark stairwell.

• In the midst of this mess, the building's owner and manager are nowhere to be found. DTE sent the United Way to try and help people who are still at the building. "So far, we've identified about 30 people who are still in the building, including women and children, and we're working with all the resources we have to try and get them placed," said Nick Monterosso with the United Way.

Source: Apartment Tenants Living Without Lights.

For story update, see Struggle restores power to apartment residents. RentSigmaSkimming