MILWAUKEE — Some Section 8 tenants in Milwaukee are facing eviction as ongoing payment and communication problems plague the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM), leaving landlords unpaid and families on the brink of homelessness.
Property manager John Flessas, owner of JS Urban Management, said he has never experienced dysfunction in the four decades he's been a landlord and property manager for Section 8 voucher tenants.
"I honestly have never seen anything like this before. I mean, we're teetering on not using Section 8 anymore," Flessas said.
Last year, HACM was forced to outsource its Section 8 program. In January, CVR Associates took over managing that program.
"It started getting difficult when the new management company came in," Flessas said.
In one case, Flessas said CVR Associates sent a tenant's rent money to a different landlord after an inspection passed and a lease was signed.
"They never gave us those funds, and since then, we had to move her [the tenant] out because we weren't getting paid," Flessas explained.
Watch: Some Section 8 tenants face eviction as Milwaukee's Housing Authority issues persist
In another property where a woman and her five children are living, Flessas said CVR is paying rent to a tenant who moved out seven months ago.
"They sent us over $10,000 that I told them to take back, and it's not for this tenant, and nobody's replying to me," Flessas said.
Documents show this specific tenant's request for tenancy was approved in June. However, Flessas said he hasn't received rent payments in seven months and is now moving forward with an eviction.
"Unfortunately, we're moving forward with an eviction," Flessas said. "She was moved in, happy, she's a nice lady, and unfortunately, now she's going to be homeless because they don't care."
Flessas has been emailing CVR asking for help since July.
On July 16, he requested a lease. He asked again on October 22, writing, "We are now into five months with no lease." In November, he emailed again and called the lack of response a failure and said the situation had become "unsustainable."
"Nobody answers there, nobody cares. I care, I don't want to put people out," Flessas said.
CVR Associates declined to go on camera, but provided the following statement:
"When CVR was initially engaged a year ago, HACM’s HCV program was severely troubled. It has been CVR’s experience that it can take up to two years to address the underlying challenges of a program in this condition. While we have made significant progress, we will continue building on this momentum as there is still work to be done.
We are aware that certain owners claim they may not have been paid housing assistance to which they believe they are entitled. In accordance with Federal Laws, we are prohibited from discussing specific landlord/tenant matters with third parties. However, in each instance where we receive a complaint, we review that matter on an individual basis with the landlord and/or tenant. We are finding many cases files may not have included required documents, and there may not have been consistent enforcement of some program requirements and/or other program processes.
Owners and property managers are reminded that it is unlawful to evict an active HCV participant for the failure of HACM to remit payments.
We are asking that owners work directly with CVR if they believe they are owed funds. Inquiries can be sent to HCVsupport@HACM.org or by contacting the customer service call center at (414) 286-5650. We strive to answer inquiries within 48 hours. During peak call times, callers may request a call back. Calls through our call center are typically returned in four hours or less."
The situation is leaving landlords without payment and communication, while tenants remain caught in the middle of an organization whose inaction is putting them at risk of homelessness.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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