Westwood Estates tenants claim retaliation from landlord after speaking with WIS

WEST COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) — Tenants say they experienced retaliation from their landlord just hours after speaking to WIS News 10 Monday.

Residents of the Westwood Estates Apartment Homes told WIS News 10 they’ve had enough after a long list of complaints went unresolved and a shooting Saturday left one person dead.

Joshua Burns said he received an email from the property saying they needed to leave immediately. However, the tenants said they have not officially received a court-ordered eviction notice.

Contract lawyers told WIS that the emailed notice to vacate these tenants received from Westwood Estates property management was not official without a court-ordered 30-day eviction notice.

Westwood Estates tenants say they are facing retaliation after a recent shooting and a WIS News 10 report.(WIS-TV)

WIS investigative reporter Deric Rush contacted Westwood Estates real estate management on Wednesday and attempted to ask management to explain the reasoning behind the email.

Management declined to comment and asked him to leave.

A court summons and previous complaints obtained by WIS News 10 show the company that owns the apartment complex owes more than $30 million to a previous owner, Riverbend Property Owner LLC. The two companies agreed to a pause in litigation preventing seizure of the property until November 22.

The email claims the tenants’ leases were terminated due to disturbances, drug activity, threatening behavior, harassment and unauthorized occupants.

Burns denies these claims.

WIS also received an email from Kiara Mercer on Monday after our initial report. She claimed to be the fiancée of Bradley Tucker, the 24-year-old killed Saturday in a shooting at the apartment complex.

Mercer said she received the same email as Burns. She is 5 months pregnant with her and Tucker’s third child, and said she feels the email was retaliation against tenants raising awareness of some of the problems at the complex.

“I just think a little bit of sympathy should have been shown there,” she said. “I don’t mind leaving, but I’m not leaving if it’s not done right.”

Currently, the property owes more than $400,000 in unpaid property taxes, according to Lexington County land records.

Aaron Wallace, an attorney not affiliated with tenants but specializing in contract law, explained some of the legal factors at play if tenants want to find legal grounds to break their lease.

“I haven’t seen the interview, but I will say that in general, owners are not responsible for the independent actions or criminal actions of a third party,” he said. “So that could address the issue of negligence.” If they need to do something about it and they know about it, they don’t do it.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said there were 242 reports of criminal incidents at this address dating back to 2021.

Wallace said that in cases he has tried in the past, he recommends tenants document everything — crime, maintenance issues or otherwise — and bring those issues to their local magistrate courts.

Depending on the evidence, a jury or judge could rule that tenants be released from a lease and reimbursed by the landlord for legal fees and their lease.

Once they establish a paper trail, Wallace said tenants have several options to defend themselves against landlords under the Residential Tenant Act.

The process encourages tenants who believe their landlord may be in breach of contract to file suit in their county magistrate’s court.

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Wallace explained that the law would give them grounds to sue their landlord and receive money reimbursed by the landlord for any damages and legal fees related to their suit.

Wallace also said tenants are protected by law to publicly complain about proven ongoing problems.

“In my opinion, if the press interview addresses these issues and deals with questions of habitability of the premises; they warn the owner that this is one of the problems,” he said. “And if they come back and retaliate because of that, I think that would be a problem.” »

The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs also has the ability to hear tenant grievances and potential neglect claims.

However, a spokesperson for the ministry said it could only act as a mediator between the tenant and the landlord.

A magistrate would ultimately be the one to ensure any mandated execution.

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