About 75 people still living in a Tucson hotel under a program that failed to provide promised housing and drug treatment to many formerly unhoused individuals are being forced out of the property after it was condemned by city code enforcement, making it less likely residents will be able to keep a roof over their heads.

The remaining occupants of the Ocotillo Hotel and Apartments were given about a week to vacate the premises after the property was condemned in a Sept. 26 Tucson City Court ruling. However, some residents said police officers began banging on doors about 7 a.m. Friday and told residents they had about an hour to leave.

The property was completely blocked off by police cruisers and yellow tape Friday.

Property management at the hotel previously notified nearly 200 residents theyโ€™d have to leave by 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20. Many decided to stay and await an official court-ordered eviction.

Most of the residents are part of what was supposed to be a sober living community at 1025 E. Benson Highway called โ€œHappy Times.โ€ The program failed to follow through on the drug addiction treatment, food and housing it promised the many formerly homeless residents, and the Ocotillo property owners have amassed thousands in outstanding rent the programโ€™s operators failed to pay.

Joe Miranda, whoโ€™s lived at the Ocotillo Hotel and Apartments for the last nine months, left the property with a cart filled with his possessions Friday morning. Heโ€™s been trying to sell his mini-fridge to get money for basic necessities.

โ€œI donโ€™t blame (Ocotillo) for not wanting to support us because itโ€™s not their responsibility,โ€ said Miranda. โ€œBut both sides, the motel and the contractorsโ€™, (they) signed contracts so somebodyโ€™s at fault. Itโ€™s not us, so why are we suffering?โ€

Unlike many of the former residents, Miranda said he has never been homeless before.

โ€œI donโ€™t know how to be homeless,โ€ he said. โ€œItโ€™s just loopholes they found in the law, and thatโ€™s fine and dandy, but what about us? We didnโ€™t ask to be here, they asked us to come and join.โ€

Tucson City Court Magistrate Thaddeus Semon ruled Tuesday the property owners must โ€œimmediately cease and desist from operating as a hotel/apartment, and shall close the premises to all โ€˜guests/tenants,โ€™โ€ forcing the remaining occupants to vacate by Oct. 6.

The ruling is an apparent response to a city code enforcement action that resulted in the condemnation of the property.

Tucson code enforcement staff visited the site Thursday to see if any progress had been made to living conditions and found โ€œthe facility did not have electrical service or fire protection,โ€ said Andy Squire, a city spokesperson.

Electricity to the property went out at 7 a.m. Thursday, according to Billy Peard, an attorney advising the occupants of their rights as tenants. He estimates about 75 people remain at the hotel.

โ€œThe property has imminent hazards and is unfit for occupancy,โ€ Squire said, adding about 30 people accepted shelter beds but all will be forced to vacate.

After many tenants decided to remain in their rooms as the notice to vacate deadline passed, management offered them $100-200 to leave, while โ€œsome people were physically threatened by their private security guards,โ€ Peard said.

โ€œWe are concerned about the whole issue of legal process and giving them an opportunity to contest the fact that theyโ€™ll be put out because of this condemnation,โ€ said Paul Gattone, another attorney working with Peard on behalf of the Ocotilloโ€™s remaining residents. โ€œItโ€™s our belief that, from a legal standpoint, these are tenants, theyโ€™re not guests at a hotel.โ€

The ruling said the property owners โ€œshall secure the property โ€ฆ to include a fence and, if needed, additional security.โ€

Tucson showed up to the anticipated mass eviction last week with a plethora of housing resources, but many tenants said they werenโ€™t interested in the mostly short-term shelter options available that can separate partners and pets.

While the city has continued to offer outreach resources, many Ocotillo residents have insisted on staying at the home theyโ€™ve known for months.

โ€œI get mail here, so I donโ€™t see how itโ€™s right to throw us out like that,โ€ said Maxine Espinoza, a resident of Ocotillo since March.

Peard finds the sudden electricity shut-off suspicious, and possibly indicative of a last-resort move from property owners to get residents to vacate.

โ€œWe had tenants a week ago who were consistently asserting their rights under the Landlord-Tenant Act, in some cases putting notices on their door for management to see. Suddenly, a week later, the electricity is turned off, and theyโ€™re saying that the building is uninhabitable,โ€ Peard said. โ€œWell, that looks and smells to me like retaliation for tenants exercising their rights.โ€

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Contact reporter Nicole Ludden at nludden@tucson.com