‘Nowhere to go’: State Rep. steps in to help tenants told to leave Hospitality Inn in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local politician has gotten involved in the eviction of dozens of families from a local hotel.

Action News Jax first reported Tuesday that the Hospitality Inn on 103rd Street had told its tenants — many of whom stay for months or even years at a time — they would not be able to renew their stay past Thursday. Those who paid by the week didn’t know if they needed to leave. Those who paid by the day had to scramble to find something new in just two days.

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On Wednesday, Action News Jax spoke again with Angel Miller, who paid for a week of rent on Monday, but was unsure if she’d be able to stay. She found out Wednesday morning she could stay at least until next Tuesday, adding, “l think of you guys honestly. I think we’d all be in the street if you guys hadn’t come and helped us out.”

Now, she’s gotten answers. But dozens of people at the Hospitality Inn still weren’t sure of what they could or couldn’t do, and whether or not they needed to leave.

UPDATED STORY: New owners of Jacksonville’s Hospitality Inn have plan to help evicted tenants

Tyler Black and his family pay by the day. They found out they had to leave and started packing. They didn’t pay another day of rent, planning to leave in the afternoon. The staff came by and put their belongings on the sidewalk, in the rain. They told Action News Jax that was one of the most insulting parts.

“If we had known about this any sooner, we would’ve probably found a better place to go. but we didn’t,” he said.

Related: ‘What the hell?’: Hospitality Inn on Jacksonville’s Westside gives tenants 2 days notice to leave

It’s not just residents that got kicked out. The staff, many of whom live at the hotel, also got fired. Clarence worked as a janitor and security. We asked him how he felt about the firing and simultaneous eviction: “Hurt. Abandoned. Just left for dead like I am nothing. And I have given my all and I’ve worked hard, blood sweat and tears for this.”

Read: Mother of two found dead in Jacksonville pond, police looking for answers

Action News Jax tried talking to management, the old and new owners, and staff still working. No one would speak or give any answers.

When no answers came, and these people still had nowhere to go and no money to pay for new lodgings, we reached out to state Rep. Angie Nixon, who immediately came to the hotel. She got the information of those who had nowhere else to go.

“There are families here with kids as young as 4 months old with kids that are getting ready to go back to school and now they have nowhere to go,” Nixon said.

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She spent the day trying to secure funding for emergency housing, but many organizations have been depleted as other hotels and motels have done similar things to their residents recently.

“I’m reaching out to the city, I’m reaching out to the state to see what we can do,” Nixon told us.

Late Wednesday night, Nixon called Action News Jax to say she’d gotten a hold of the new owners, who told her they had no idea the current tenants of their new establishment were in this situation.

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She told Action News Jax there would be answers for these tenants in the morning.

Clarence told Action News Jax that he knows Jacksonville is better than this.

“I’m not even from Jacksonville but I refuse to believe Jacksonville is built like this.”

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