‘We all have to get out’: Families scramble to find new places to live in exodus from condemned Topeka apartment complex

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The last residents of Topeka’s troubled Timberlee Apartments say they are facing grim prospects as a move-out deadline passes.

Jemelle Irons is among the last people remaining at the Timberlee Apartments in east Topeka after a July 31, 2025, deadline to move out of the living units. She told 27 News her family is struggling to find a new place to call home despite being ordered to move out of the apartments.

“So they didn’t pass inspection,” Irons said. “We all have to get out. You know that’s wrong. People have kids. People don’t have jobs for them. They say. I’ll go look for a place. We don’t have a car.”

More than 70 families had to find new living arrangements under a tight timeline last year after the Timberlee Apartments, located at 341 Southeast Lawrence Street, were condemned in August 2024. The City of Topeka’s Property Maintenance Unit found unsafe levels of carbon monoxide at the apartments that caused two juveniles to be hospitalized. Other issues, such as raw sewage and trash violations, further added on to the problems at the apartments and prompted the exodus of its residents.

The Topeka Housing Authority (THA) started meeting with tenants of the apartments in December last year, going over alternative housing options with them. The THA issued vouchers to Timberlee’s residents in March 2025 but encouraged families to find new leases as quickly as possible due to a limited local housing inventory.

“Our community is short on affordable housing,” said Trey George, president and CEO of the THA. “And so to lose 100 apartments, especially 100 assisted apartments, is a big loss.”

The bank has since taken back possession of Timberlee Apartments, with a court ordering all remaining tenants to leave by July 31. Nine families have yet to send in requests for moving vouchers as of Aug. 4.

“Well, we’re going to be homeless because they put they put everybody out there that they’re not letting people get their stuff,” Irons said.

Homes are available in Topeka but finding affordable housing is difficult for some locals. One major challenge is fair market rents set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which represents the maximum amount the THA can pay a Section 8 landlord.

“And so the sad honesty is that at times some landlords could rent a home for more, not participate in the Section 8 program than if they do,” George said. “It’s just because the market allows for people to pay higher rents.”

HUD hired a local third party to help with the process of getting people out of Timberlee. So far, 65 families have relocated away from the condemned structures.

New housing options are on the way for Topeka. A $60 million apartment complex is in the works near the downtown area, an old historic building is being renovated into living spaces on Kansas Avenue and SENT, Inc. is working to create additional housing in southeast Topeka.

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