A 56-year-old Pasco County who was laid off from his job because of the pandemic told Spectrum Bay News 9 Metropolitan Ministries was willing to pay his September rent, but his apartment complex refused to accept it.


What You Need To Know

  • Perry Taylor says his apartment complex won't accept third-party payments.

  • Park Place Apartments did not return a request for comment from Spectrum Bay News 9.

  • Metropolitan Ministries says it has helped 2,000 families keep a roof over their heads through the pandemic.

"It's embarrassing enough to have lost your job and have to ask for help," Perry Taylor said. "It's just somebody needs help, so why can't they get help that's available instead of just turning them down?"

Taylor lives at the Park Place Apartments located at 9310 Valleyview Lane in Port Richey, and he said he was laid off from his job at an aerospace filtration company in mid-August. Taylor contacted Metropolitan Ministries for help, and the non-profit charitable organization agreed to pay his rent.

Taylor said all he needed was his landlord to fill out a form.

"I ​contacted the office to get them to fill this paper out for me, but they wouldn't do it," he said. "They said that they don't work with any type of organization that will allow people to get help with their rent."

Taylor said he was shocked that his apartment complex would not accept third-party rent payments during these tough times.

"I asked again, I said, 'are you kidding?' I mean, I understand under normal circumstances, but we're not in normal circumstances," he said. "They said, 'no,' that they were not going to allow any organization to help me." 

Spectrum Bay News 9 contacted the Park Place Apartments on Thursday to inquire about their policy. An employee in the front office said she would contact the manager with the request, but we did not get a response by the time this article was published.

Metropolitan Ministries said it has paid more than $1.7 million directly to landlords during the pandemic to prevent homelessness. All of that money has helped hundreds of Bay Area families keep a roof over their heads.

"What we've been able to see is almost 2,000 families this time through the COVID," said Mary Treichel, Associate Director of Outreach. "A lot of it is because of the grant assistance that's available for families who've been suffering all sorts of hardships because of the COVID."

Taylor said the only relief his apartment complex offered was for him to pay three-quarters of the rent with the rest due in December. The tenant said he still doesn't understand why the complex won't make an exception.

“Why not let somebody help? It's not like we're asking to stay here for free and they're not going to get no money," Taylor asked. "They're going to get the money. It just kind of blew me away that they wouldn't allow somebody help me."