Santa Fe Standard

A Santa Fe apartment complex lost power last week and can’t be fixed in the near future, forcing tenants to look for new housing in a crowded market.

“There’s almost zero apartment availability within 20 minutes of Santa Fe,” Thomas Flanigan, one of the tenants, told KOB 4 recently. “And I mean zero. So this is a very difficult situation for 56 units.”

The tenants said management at Railyard Flats has instructed them to move out by July 6 as repairs could take up to three months to fix, the KOB 4 report said. A statement from Railyard Flats said the building experienced “unforeseen electrical issues” and acknowledged the inconvenience it has caused. 

“We are working with contractors on a permanent solution,” the statement said, quoted by KOB 4. “Due to back order and supply chain issues, it could be a long term project. We understand the inconvenience this has caused for many of our residents and as a result, we are letting those impacted break their leases without penalty. In the interim, we have placed them in hotels through July 8.”

Some tenants have remained in their units without power. 

“This is a critical situation,” tenant Donna Huaman-Castillo told KOB 4. “My daughter and I are sleeping on air mattresses, taking cold showers. They’re not even feeding us.”

Other tenants are struggling with the prospect of seeking alternative housing.

“I thought, where are we going to live?,” Helen Wang, another tenant, told KOB 4. “I just moved to Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago and it took something like several months to find an apartment with an opening. The thought of beginning that process all over again felt really crazy.”

Tenants said management has not told them the cause of the power outage, but they are looking for owners and management to make things right with them.

“I think that given that Greystar manages many other complexes, at the very least, they should be paying for us to stay in an apartment, paying for moving expenses, etc.,” Flanigan said.