Malden Tenants Say Charter School Unfairly Kicking Them Out

MALDEN, MA — Residents of a building recently bought by the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School say the school is kicking them out at the end of the year after initially telling them they had until 2023 to find new homes.

While an attorney for the school declined comment, residents said they are scrambling to find new places to live after a Nov. 12 letter from the lawyer threatened legal action if they did not move out by Dec. 31.

Tatiane Oliveira, who has lived at 22 Lebanon Street for close to 15 years, said she noticed people coming to take pictures around the building back in May. When she asked her landlord about it, he told her he was refinancing, not selling, the building.

But after Oliveira renewed her lease in June, she learned the charter school had bought the apartments.

"I called the landlord and asked why he didn't tell us he was selling the building," she said. "He said it's his business, not my business. Then a representative from the charter school came with a letter informing all the families that the building has been sold, and the charter school is in charge."

Oliveira said a representative from the school, who collected rent payments and handled maintenance requests, told her she and her two neighbors would have to vacate their apartments by April 2023. That would give her family time to save money and for her son to finish high school.

"When we found out [the landlord] sold the building, everyone got desperate because we thought we were going to have to leave right away," Oliveira said.

"Unfortunately, It Was Not My Decision."

But the charter school suddenly changed its tune, informing tenants Nov. 12 they would have to be out of their apartments by the end of the year. In a letter to Oliveira, Thomas Brennan, an attorney for the school, wrote, "you are hereby notified that your tenancy at said premises is terminated effective at the expiration of the last day of the month of December 2021."

Brennan declined to comment.

The letter threatens using "the due course of the law to evict you." Malden's eviction moratorium is still in effect, but while it prevents the forcible removal of tenants from properties, it does not prohibit landlords from filing eviction notices in court.

Oliveira said her neighbors received the same letter.

"I thought maybe I was reading wrong. I was in shock...everyone was shocked," she said. "It's evil, you know."

Oliveira said she did not get the initial end date of April 2023 in writing, and when she confronted the man responsible for the building, he told her, "unfortunately, it was not my decision."

Laura Rosi, CEO of the nonprofit Housing Families Inc., where Oliveira's case was referred, could not discuss the case in detail. She hinted that it may be challenging for Oliveira and her neighbors to fight the order based on a verbal agreement.

"In my experience, I don't know that that would carry a lot of weight, if there's nothing documented," Rosi said.

A "Unique" Eviction Case

Housing Families Inc. offers a variety of services to combat homelessness in the area, including shelters for individuals and families. The nonprofit has an eviction prevention team that provides legal services and housing alternatives for tenants facing removal.

Rosi said the organization received an influx of people during the pandemic who fell behind on rent due to loss of income or adjusting their careers altogether to care for their children at home. Oliveira's case is unique in that the building's residents are not being evicted for cause, such as late rent or property damage.

"What's different with this case is it's not that these clients, from what I'm hearing, are behind on rent," she said. "That's not going to solve the issue."

Housing Families is in the early stages of taking up Oliveira's case and has reached out to all three households at 22 Lebanon Street.

"We'll be hearing from them what are the facts, what the leases say and evaluate what their rights are," Rosi said.

Plan For Property Remains Unclear

Brennan, the school's lawyer, could not comment on what MVRCS plans to do with the property. But it appears to be part of the school's expansion plan, for which it bought 50,000 square feet of space in Maplewood Square earlier this year, the Advocate reported.

The school aims to grow enrollment by 1,900 over the next 10 years and expects to break ground on a new development after it renews its charter in 2023.

"While full plans are not developed yet, the size of the combined property will provide the school with increased flexibility moving forward," Director/Superintendent Alex Dan told the Advocate in June.

Dan did not respond to a Patch request for comment on this story.

Rosi said the backlog of housing cases due to the coronavirus pandemic could ultimately work in Oliveira's favor. The notice to quit is the first step in a legal process that only allows landlords to evict tenants when a judge orders it.

"Because these are no fault cases, and because of COVID and everything else, I would hope that judges would be willing to give people more time to find places to go," she said.