So I applied in May for Sarasota County ERA and it took almost 5 months to get it resolved. About 1 month ago the owners of the property moved in the main residence temporarily to renovate. They had lived in N. Carolina previous 5 years and had employed their Sister here to manage and rent the property. I live in a Studio Apartment that’s sublets and addition to the residence. There’s no connection from apartment to residence and I can’t enter the residence nor can they enter the apartment. So, they really didn’t want to even participate in this at all and when they finally did they told Sarasota that we lived together and I live in a bedroom. Apparently this is against a draconian rule Sarasota created outside the guidelines from US Treasury. But, it’s not true at all because my apartment has a kitchen, Bathroom/Shower/living area and it’s own driveway and front door.
Nevertheless they denied me even though I easily qualified. It gives me 7 days to come up w/ $700 rent or face an eviction. They suggested applying with the State of Florida EAR but, the wait is long & again the ‘landlord’ refuses to participate which has literally stopped the process and getting ahold of a person that works there isn’t possible. What am I supposed to do? This money was allocated to States to prevent eviction & homelessness and they actually sped it up and made my situation worse by delaying 4.5 months. I don’t get why they would not give me this money knowing it’s going to cause me to be evicted?!!
These ppl I don’t even know and who just popped up a month ago won’t be living on the property but a little bit of time so it seems like an excuse to discriminate against single renters. I’ve called every organization local and they say sorry u need to apply for the 2 EAR Programs. I told them they denied me and the State won’t move forward w/o the landlord who refuses to participate. I’ve tried to contact US Treasury to complain they are abusing the money & program by denying qualified applicants but, no luck. This seems especially unfair given that I paid my rent through the entire pandemic when others stopped paying and drained my retirement savings in the process. Do I have no recourse if the landlord intentionally is sabotaging my application & refuses to participate? Or am I just another person that qualified but, was denied do to a draconian rule that is discriminatory and is going to cause me to lose my apartment, all possessions, and my heart and soul: my 7 year old Staffy who I can’t care for on the streets. I thought they passed these programs to avoid eviction not make it worse? 🤦 My name is William Watson wwatson92@yahoo.com
941-961-2118
Please help