JESSAMINE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Tenants packed their things and left the apartment complex located at 500 Beaford Place in Nicholasville Monday morning after being told they must vacate their units.
Tenant Jossie Barnett said she was told they've all been forced out of the complex so renovations could be done, and that this decision was made by new ownership.
"Unfortunately it is legal," former tenant Autumn Bishop said. "Just not right by any means."
Bishop said she first heard she had to go in December after receiving a letter.
She didn't put up a fight because she already had another good option: the dorms at EKU, where she's a student.
"I feel really bad for the people who are in a much worse situation than I am and don't have that option," she said.
Contrastingly, former tenant Kayce Burns and his girlfriend don't have a place to go. They're staying in a hotel until they can find housing.
"We don't really have anywhere to go," Burns said. "They didn't give us enough time to figure that out."
Tenants said they were given about seven weeks to move.
LEX 18 spoke briefly with someone in the front office Monday and asked if they would help make the transition for these tenants easier.
We were told no comment.
Tenants, however, said they have received $600 to cover moving expenses, free rent in January, and their full security deposits.
"It helps but it's nothing like getting put out in the middle of winter right after Christmas," Burns said.
Other tenants who didn't want to go on camera echoed this. Several said they have no permanent housing lined up.
One man said he is going to end up on the streets as a result. Another family said they were heading to a motel.
People are likely having a hard time finding places because affordable housing is in high demand.
According to the Nicholasville Housing Authority, there is a waitlist of up to one and a half years for a one-bedroom apartment in Jessamine County and up to 9 months for a two-bedroom.
Therefore, the tenants without a place to call home will have to make do for now.
