Hundreds of residents at The Morgan apartments in St. Petersburg are bracing for a possible water shutoff after the property’s owners failed to pay overdue utility bills.

Thursday marks the deadline for Lurin Real Estate Holdings, which owns the complex, to settle more than $350,000 in unpaid water charges. City officials confirmed the outstanding balance and urged residents to start preparing alternative housing options.

“This is really ridiculous, it’s sad,” tenant Phoebe Quarterman said. “We’ve paid our rent and our water bill, but now this is happening and we don’t have any immediate recourse.”

A similar threat recently loomed over tenants at The Elements on Third, another Lurin-owned property, but that bill has since been paid.

In a statement, Lurin said it is “working constructively with the City regarding its records for water use at The Morgan” and hopes to resolve the issue “without any impact on residents.” The company added that it remains in communication with both city officials and tenants.

Still, some residents are already packing up. “I’d already been looking at other options. This just gave me the push I needed to get out,” tenant Taylor Lewis told WFLA.

Others, like Quarterman, say they have nowhere to go. “I understand there’s an obligation, but it’s not on us,” she said. “We need assistance. We cannot move. There are elderly people here.”

As of Thursday morning, the city had not announced when service at The Morgan could be shut off.

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