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Tenants say they're being forced out before their lease ends; law says they can finish it out

Posted at 7:45 PM, Nov 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-14 19:45:43-05

INDIANAPOLIS -- People living in one Indianapolis apartment complex say they're being forced out of their homes before their leases are up because the apartment managers want to start renovations, but a lawyer says as long as their lease is a legal contract they shouldn't have to leave. 

The Cottages of Fall Creek are under construction and new ownership. 

Tenants living there say they've received letters on their door from management giving them 30 days to move to "expedite construction."

READ | Tenants say they're being forced out of their apartments because of renovations

RTV6 asked management about those letters last week and they said residents had the option to finish out their lease, but the letters were simply giving them the option to break early without a penalty. 

Tenants say they're being told something completely different. 

"She was like, 'no, that's isn't true. You're apartment number what?' I said 21. She said, 'oh, well, you get 30 days. That's until December if you still can't find anywhere you get another 30 days. They will be starting your building around January,'" said Shiqqon McCreary. 

RTV6 reached out to a tenant-landlord attorney who says if residents have a contract - and they are not in breach of that contract - the landlords cannot force them to leave. 

That attorney says residents that have leases that aren't expired and have paid their rent, do have a course of action. She recommends they contact Indiana Legal Services, they deal with this type of situation and help people who cannot afford attorneys. 

After reaching back out to the property managers, someone inside the office said we needed to reach out to someone with the management company. After two phone calls and two e-mails to that group, RTV6 still hasn't received a response as of Wednesday evening. 

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