MIAMI – Steve Leidner
is the only person living at the Hamilton on the Bay, a
28-story residential building in Miami’s Edgewater bayside
neighborhood. He said he was outraged when he received a
letter saying he had 60 days to leave and he has refused to
do so.
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Leidner said he has
lived in apartment 2610 for nearly two decades and had a
lease until June 2022. He said he was paying $1,496 monthly
for the one-bedroom apartment, but his landlord has not
allowed him to pay September or October and wants to charge
him fees.
“I am not a squatter,” Leidner said, later adding the
property owners lied to him when they told tenants they
would not be evicted.
The building, purchased by Aimco, is under renovation. The
elevator is unreliable and the power and the water service
were disconnected during repairs. The small print on the
lease allowed early termination. The company offered to
cover three months of rent at another property.
“Their solutions were ‘We will help you move out’ to a
micro-apartment,” Leidner said. |
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A tenant refuses to leave an apartment at a
condominium building that is under renovation in Miami.
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Aimco blamed the hasty evictions on
the urgency to replace the sewer system. Other residents
also refused their lease terminations. Leidner is the last
guy standing. Attorney David Winker is representing him in
Miami-Dade court. Leidner’s attorney said the water and
electricity are now on by court order.
