Tenants have to scramble after flooding due to a broken sprinkler system has displaced them

Tenants who were victims to flooding due to a broken sprinkler system now have to leave the building entirely.

Displaced by the incident, residents say that they only have until December 3rd before they no longer can stay in emergency housing in hotels set up by ShipRock Management.

They also say that their leases have been completely dissolved and that they have to remove all their belongings by Monday December 6th.

One tenant we talked with said, “I’m sure no one slept last night and it’s just been a whirlwind. We kind of feel like we are in a nightmare to be quite honest."

Some tenants we talked with feel they don’t have enough time to plan, and some have no place to go. They also blame the poor communication.

One tenant expressed her disappointment with the company saying, “You know they gave us how many days’ notice? We have to give them 30 if anything to get out of our place. So it’s like a little bit of respect would be [nice] and I hope no one goes through this. It’s really sad."

We reached out to ShipRock for a comment and they said,

“We care deeply about all of our residents. It is a terrible unforeseen situation. We understand how much folks rely on us for safe housing in our area and want every bit to take care of our tenants. This situation is truly unfortunate, especially considering the timing.”

“From a management standpoint, the building is condemned by the city until an insurance investigation can be completed. Although some units are habitable, the sprinkler system to the building remains turned off, which keeps the building in the condemned status. Our management team has spent the last week doing our absolute best trying to secure alternative housing for the residents. We have been successful at securing some. We have also informed our residents we will truly continue to do our best to find more housing, but have also encouraged folks to continue to search on their own and take advantage of other available rental units in the twin ports if they choose. All security deposits are being returned in full.”