Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070023
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After 23 years of living in the same South Roanoke apartment complex, the retired couple is being forced to move.
South Roanoke Apartment Village has refused to renew the lease to the Locketts' two-bedroom apartment, saying the couple's smoking is bothering neighbors and making the apartment filthy.
Come Dec. 1, the Locketts will leave their home of more than two decades. They have no idea where they will go.
"We're shook up," said 77-year-old Warren Lockett.
Make no mistake about it, Florence Lockett readily admits that 23 years of smoking have taken a toll on the apartment.
The walls have turned a mustard color from absorbing cigarette smoke. Evidence of their original color can be seen when Florence pulls a clock off the wall, revealing an off-white outline where it hangs.
"Well, of course it's dirty," she said. "But it's not a pigsty; it's not unlivable."
Both Warren and Florence Lockett smoke a pack of cigarettes a day.
At 20 cigarettes a pack, the couple has smoked more than 336,000 cigarettes since they moved from Washington, D.C., to Roanoke in 1971 - and most of those have been consumed at home.
Warren Lockett said the apartment complex's management never complained about the couple's smoking until this year.
In February, the Locketts got a letter from Judy Woody, who helps manage the complex, asking them to purchase an air purifier.
"Painting the hall ceilings recently has not helped cut down on the nicotine smell in the hall," the letter said.
The Locketts bought two air purifiers - one for their living room and one for the bedroom.
They figured the problem was solved, until Sept. 19, when they got another letter saying their lease would be terminated when it ended Nov. 30.
"We were shocked," Florence Lockett said.
The couple said they were surprised management was so worried about the condition of an apartment that had been painted only twice in 23 years.
Kent Willis, director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Richmond, said the apartment complex isn't breaking any laws by refusing to renew the Locketts' lease.
"One of the weaknesses of the Landlord-Tenant Act in Virginia is that nonrenewal of a lease can be used to evict people for almost any reason," he said.
Numerous phone calls to Woody weren't returned, but she told Roanoke television station WDBJ (Channel 7) that neighbors had complained about the Locketts' smoking habits.
But 82-year-old Wilson Francis, who lives next door to the couple, said he will miss his neighbors of six years.
"No, indeed, I've never had any problems," he said. "They have been so nice to us."
The Locketts paid $157.50 rent their first month; the last month they will pay $420.
Warren Lockett, a native Roanoker, said he and his wife moved back to the area to retire after a fire destroyed their home in Washington.
"Burned out of Washington, smoked out of Roanoke," he said. "What a story."
The Locketts have no idea where they will live. Money isn't the problem; they can afford to pay more rent than they are now.
The problem, Florence Lockett said, is that most of the apartment complexes they want to live in are full.
"We don't know what we are going to do," she said.
by CNB