Environmental and health concerns aren't the only factors behind a push to evacuate 600 families from the Huntington Meadows apartment complex in Bond Hill. Financial and legal issues are playing a part, too.

        Residents were told last week that they may have to leave their homes because of unhealthy sewage in basements and crawl spaces, dangerous mold in walls and ceilings and risks of toxic asbestos exposure.

        Huntington Meadows, a 65-acre complex of low-income apartments and townhouses, is in receivership. Its owner, Huntington Meadows Limited Partnership, fell behind on mortgage payments last year and filed for bankruptcy. Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage guarantor, holds a $17 million mortgage on the property and is seeking to foreclose. A court-appointed receiver, Habitat America, runs the complex, collects rent and oversees upkeep.

Evicting tenants

        But even before the uproar over health concerns, residents had battled with Habitat to continue to live on the property. Occupancy is down from about 900 families late last year to about 600 today.

        In January, Habitat sent letters to about 550 residents threatening eviction for rent that was five to 90 days late. Habitat took 350 cases to court but lost the first ones because the previous owners had allowed such late payments, said Gary Pieples, a legal aid lawyer who represented the tenants.

        Habitat dropped most of the remaining cases, but many residents were intimidated and moved out anyway.

        Rent collections, though smaller, became more regular. Still, red ink flowed in Huntington Meadows' books earlier this summer. Habitat wrote the court that by the end of June, Huntington Meadows would be out of cash. Rents wouldn't be enough to offset expenses.

        Habitat asked to shut down Huntington Meadows.

        Instead, Fannie Mae agreed to fund the receiver's work for two months, kicking in $200,000 for July and August.

Court victory

        In May and June, tenants won another important court battle to stay on the property beyond foreclosure.

        Three families asked to intervene in the mortgage foreclosure case. They wanted to be sure that, no matter who ends up as owner, Huntington Meadows would remain “affordable housing” and its residents would have the right to live there for at least three years.

        Those requirements were attached to a $20 million deal that financed a 1997 renovation of Huntington Meadows.

        Huntington Meadows' developers agreed then to rent mostly to people who have annual incomes of about $29,000 or less, depending on family size, and to those who qualify for government assistance.

        In exchange, investors in Huntington Meadows received $10 million in federal tax credits for 10 years and a one-time injection of $3.5 million in federal housing funds, care of the City of Cincinnati.

        In the foreclosure action, Fannie Mae and Habitat objected to tenants' intervention, saying they should press their rights with the new owners, not in a foreclosure proceeding.

        The judge disagreed, noting that the tenants' futures may well be decided before then. The judge proved prescient.

        A few weeks after his decision, Habitat released the results of the frightening environmental study, which found sewage, mold, asbestos and other hazards at the complex.

        Though the judge may decide this week whether to close Huntington Meadows, many more tenants already are moving out.

        Habitat officials did not return phone calls for comment.

        A Fannie Mae spokeswoman said Fannie Mae is mainly concerned with tenants' safety and health.

        E-mail damos@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/amos.

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