Little Bobby Barnes is one of the most miserable people I've ever had to deal with. He and his…read morebrothers took advantage of the COVID panic from my previous landlord, Kurdo, and took over my building on the 29th of January 2021. I had been living in that building since September of 2015, with no real issue. Yes, the building is old and flawed, but I loved it, and the rent was a fair price, relative to the size of the unit; I had a 550²ft efficiency (think like a cross between a larger Studio and a tiny 1 Bedroom) with a balcony. There were at least four other people in the building who'd been living there longer than I had, and two other units who moved in maybe two months after I did. All seven of us (out of twenty-three units) had lived there until the rent hikes imposed by Barnes & Barnes, or simply refusal to renew the leases, began ousting us, beginning in July of 2021.
Bobby MacLaren was the first to go. He'd been there since the early 1990s, a Desert Storm vet with disability. Then was the single mother of four, who was across the hall from me. Then the single mother and her teen daughter from the first floor. Then my friend, Peter, a karaoke DJ who was also on the first floor. Then the sister of the mother of four, who moved into her own place shortly after the aforementioned mom did. Now me, a disabled gay man and street musician. Shortly after me, will be the retiree on the second floor, who's in her 70s.
A couple of months ago, I noticed the photos they'd put on Craigslist, offering the newly "renovated" units that had been vacated by either one of us long-timers or one of the units previously occupied by transient students. While they have a decent photographer, I can assure you that these renovations are all cosmetic and superfluous. It's all a justification to jack up the rent by 19% more from what Kurdo was charging us. The floors aren't level in a really weird way, for starters.
Then there's the legal issues. I've been in court with Barnes over my move from September 2021 (literally the beginning of the new lease they offered me, back in May, which I signed after bringing in the A2 Area Tenants Union for advice, to no complaint from themselves) to this month, January 2022. They skirt the laws against harassment and intimidation of tenants via off-the-books social media goons who dogpile anyone on Nextdoor or Facebook who dares to speak out against their shenanigans.
Since December 2021, I have had an agreed-upon move-out for 31 January 2022. Since that December agreement, I have signed a new lease with a new landlord, which gave me a move-in date for 22 January 2022. Part of my new lease was to have the electric bill moved over to my name within 24 hrs of the move-in date. Regardless, Barnes began whining about this, the week before, on the 15th of January, in a court date regarding my CERA application and their claim for back-due rent (a separate, but related matter), and on that court date the judge reminded everyone that my date to move out was still the 31st of January.
As I'm too blind to drive, have psoriatic arthritis, a spinal curvature, and Carpal Tunnel neuropathy in my hands, and my move-in date to the new place --which is only a block away from the apartment where I'd lived since September 2015-- was ten days before my move-out from the old building, and I have very few family and friends who are available to help, I've been gradually moving my books, furniture, and other items over that period of time. Any reasonable person in my situation would consider that a fair arrangement.
In spite of being reminded by the judge, of the move-out date of the 31st of January, Barnes is still giving me problems. On the 24th of January, they affixed a "48 Hr Notice" to my door, informing me to have my things vacated, or they'll re-assume control of my unit. This is not only in violations of the court order, but this is also in violation of Michigan's Anti-Lockout statute, MCL 600.2918! These men really have zero respect for not only their tenants, but also the laws that are in place to protect tenants from people like them!
I have informed my lawyer about their *illegal* 48 Hr Notice, who has since informed their lawyer, who has ostensibly informed them, and so here we are!
As you can see, there are clear reasons why several friends of mine warned me against moving into a Barnes building, and while I initially did not, I was in a bind, where I couldn't afford to move, but I could barely afford to stay, either. So here we are.
Robert Barnes and his brothers are literally the worst. I really can't think of any other way to put it. They inherited their inherently unskilled "profession" from their daddy, and the overwhelming majority of local people warn their friends and family against signing with Barnes. They make superfluous cosmetic changes and call it "renovation," and THEY ARE LITERALLY WILLING TO BREAK THE LAW if they decide that a tenant is a "problem."
