KISSIMMEE, Fla. — About 30 families living in a hotel on U.S. 192 will have not have any heat or power during this cold weather, as their hotel, which they call home, is in the process of shutting down.
- Power and heat shut off at Lake Cecile Inn
- The hotel is in the process of shutting down
- About 30 families are living in the hotel
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Victor Rosa, a veteran on disability benefits, and his wife Barbara England have two special needs kids and a 1-year-old goddaughter.
“There's times where you just want sit down and cry and be like, what are we going to do?” Rosa said.
They recently bought $200 worth of food, but it’s mainly spoiled now, because of the lack of power at their place.
Kissimmee Utility Authority has shut off the power at Lake Cecile Inn, a hotel that’s closing its doors for renovations. Management put up a notice to vacate last month, giving tenants about two weeks to get out.
Some of the residents News 13 spoke to on property, told us they paid their rent in November and also in December. At this point, the Osceola County Building Department is deeming the hotel unsafe, because there are no working fire alarms or sprinklers.
“We woke up yesterday morning to one of the tenants here knocking on our door saying, open the door they’re turning the power off,” England said.
KUA told Spectrum News 13 Lake Cecile is behind $17,859.84 on its bill.
There’s also notices hanging on every doorway saying Toho Water Authority will be shutting down their services on Thursday.
Toho Water Authority reported to Spectrum News 13 that Lake Cecile owes them $7,337.99.
Attorney Jeremy Hogan filed an emergency temporary injunction on behalf of this family. He said Florida statute prohibits a landlord from directly or indirectly causing the termination or interruption of any utility service furnished to a tenant.
These families feel like they're caught in the middle and just want a home for the holidays.
“It’s not fair to all these families,” England added.
We have attempted to contact the owner of Lake Cecile on numerous occasions but have not heard back.