A shocking story from Miami reveals how America’s senior citizens, particularly those on low incomes, are always at risk of losing their homes if they aren’t lucky enough to be homeowners…and in today’s economy, that seems to be plenty of them.
A story from CBS News Miami reveals how residents of the Riviera Apartments in Miami Beach, some of whom have lived there for more than 20 years, are being told to get out of their apartments at a moment’s notice. A total of forty-two families in the apartment complex are not scrambling to find accommodation nearby after the building’s landlord issued everybody there an eviction notice.
One of the building’s residents, Milagros Santos, told news outlets how she has lived in the building for over 23 years in her small, one-bedroom apartment. Santos was comfortable in the building, having always paid her rent, and valued her living security because of her Parkinson’s diagnosis. Regardless, she has until August 31 to vacate.
Speaking to local news outlets, Santos said that little information was given to her and others, and that they were simply told to get out.
It’s not just a problem for her, of course. Many of the other residents of the buildings are also disabled and pay low rent because they are on a lower income.
Families in the building were given barely two months’ notice to leave, with the eviction notices handed out on July 2. The notice didn’t even come personally from the landlord, either, but from Roth and Scholl, a law firm that represents the landlords who own the building.
So where will the residents go? It’s a question that even they can’t answer. Looking at the average cost of housing in the same area, residents will be looking at paying on average $1,870 for a studio apartment. That’s an apartment with a bathroom and a single additional room that accounts for the bedroom and living space. If they’re lucky, some residents may find a studio apartment for that price with a kitchen that isn’t attached to the bedroom.
A huge portion of America’s senior citizens face similar problems. According to data from 2022, 79% of older Americans are homeowners – meaning one in five are not. In 2020, data showed that one-third of the chronically homeless population of the United States was over the age of 55.
Sounds like a problem we should be trying to solve, doesn’t it?
