Cypress Hills resident served eviction for reporting conditions

Cypress Hills Apartments resident Jessica Berry was served an eviction notice; partially because she reported her living conditions to the City of Vicksburg and the Vicksburg Daily News.

A report on the Vicksburg Daily News on Thursday showed the living conditions for some of the residents of the Cypress Hills Apartments. One of those residents, Jessica Berry, was served with an eviction notice later in the day after the story ran. Two of the reasons listed were for reporting her living conditions to the City and to the Vicksburg Daily News. The other reason listed was “Damage to Apartment 214 door. Trying to gain access to occupant to do bodily harm.”

The eviction notice served to Berry on Wednesday. Photo used with permission.

Berry stated, “I don’t know anything about a damaged door at Apartment 214. I reported most of the issues in the apartment when I moved in. Then I asked him about it every time I seen him since then.”

The eviction notice was given to Barry Wednesday evening and signed by Giles with Thursday’s date.

When asked about a lease agreement, Berry produced a receipt from when she paid to move in on July 9, 2021.

Mississippi Code 89-8-15 has specific rules for tenants and landlords to follow regarding repairs made by tenants. Basically, you must notify the landlord in writing of the needed repair and the landlord then has 30 days to make the repair. If they do not the tenant can fix it and get their money back, if they follow the letter of the law.

A landlord is not permitted to retaliate against a tenant for the tenant’s exercise of rights related to repair, according to the Mississippi Code.