JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tenants at two Westside apartment complexes say they were caught off guard after being served foreclosure lawsuit paperwork, leaving many fearful they could lose their homes and frustrated by what they describe as little communication from management.
The complexes, Arbor Oaks Apartments and Virginian Arms Apartments on Jammes Road, are tied to landlord Jarek Tadla, whose companies have operated under names including People’s Choice Apartments, Legacy Family Communities and Jacksonville Rental Properties.
The News4JAX I-TEAM has spent months investigating complaints tied to Tadla-owned or affiliated properties, where residents have reported poor maintenance, neglected living conditions and difficulty reaching management. Public records show all 14 Jacksonville apartment complexes tied to Tadla are currently facing foreclosure lawsuits.
“We don’t know who to talk to. We don’t know who to pay. We don’t know who’s over us,” one resident told News4JAX. “And then all of a sudden on a Saturday morning, there’s a knock on the door and you’re getting a packet this thick.”
The foreclosure filings list dozens of tenants individually as parties in the lawsuits, something residents said added to their confusion and fear.
“I’m not a lawyer. I’ve never been evicted. I don’t know how to read these papers,” she said.
The resident, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said she has lived without working central air conditioning since moving into the complex in March.
“No AC, no communication,” she said. “We haven’t had an office in two months. Nobody, it’s completely cleaned out. You can’t face-to-face talk to anyone.”
The resident said receiving legal paperwork without explanation only intensified concerns about where families would go if they were forced out.
“Do I have somewhere to stay? I have a child,” she said. “We’re not going to be homeless for anybody.”
News4JAX repeatedly attempted to contact management at Virginian Arms but received no response. At neighboring Arbor Oaks, a man who came outside told News4JAX the property was not connected to People’s Choice Apartments and identified the property manager as Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC.
According to public business records, Jarek Tadla is listed as the title manager for Jacksonville Rental Properties LLC.
Residents also disputed that claim.
“It’s a lie,” one tenant said. “He’s telling a bold-faced lie. But now you see exactly what I’m saying. We can’t get answers from anywhere. And we’re supposed to just be here like sitting ducks, wondering if we have to move. I’m trying to understand court papers when I didn’t go to law school.”
Board-certified real estate attorney Zach Roth said tenants being named in the foreclosure cases does not mean they are immediately facing eviction.
“They are actually naming them as parties to the lawsuit,” Roth explained.
Roth said federal protections under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act generally allow renters with legitimate leases to remain in their homes through the end of their lease terms, even after a foreclosure.
“Basically it says that when you foreclose a residential dwelling, bona fide leases essentially have to be allowed to remain in place until they expire when there’s a written lease,” Roth said.
Court records show foreclosure proceedings for Virginian Arms were finalized in April, and a sale of the property is scheduled for July.
At Arbor Oaks, the foreclosure case remains in its early stages. Summonses have been issued to both tenants and the property owner.
An attorney involved in the Arbor Oaks foreclosure told News4JAX that tenants are not being evicted as part of the current proceedings. The attorney said lease agreements could eventually be impacted if ownership changes after foreclosure, but any decisions regarding lease renewals or extensions would ultimately be up to a future owner.