North Union resident says deposit dispute changed after residents pushed back following Midvale fire

MIDVALE, Utah  — A week after a fire forced hundreds of residents from the North Union Apartments in Midvale, one resident said the challenges did not end when he escaped the burning building.

For Carlos Flores, the days since the fire have included uncertainty over his belongings, conflicting information about what would happen next and, at one point, a decision over whether to sign paperwork he feared could affect his ability to recover irreplaceable possessions.

That part, at least, has now changed.

North Union Management told fourth-floor residents of the North Union Apartments in an email that security deposits and prepaid rent are available for refund and that residents are no longer required to sign documents to receive the money.

Related: Midvale apartment fire tenants feel misled into paying for insurance that didn’t cover them

Flores, who has lived at North Union since July 2023, said getting to that point capped a difficult week for residents already dealing with the loss of their homes.

“It just adds to the stress,” Flores said.

Communication after the fire

Flores said communication from apartment management began as the fire unfolded, with residents receiving instructions to evacuate and gather at Hillcrest High School across the street.

After that, he said communication slowed through the weekend.

By Monday, Flores said residents began receiving more information about how management planned to move forward.

Among the biggest questions for Flores and his neighbors was whether they would ever be able to retrieve their belongings.

Related: No timeline yet for tenants to return to Midvale apartment complex

Flores lived on the fourth floor, one of the areas most heavily damaged by the fire. He said residents received changing information about whether they would eventually be allowed back inside.

North Union Management’s latest email to fourth-floor residents said access remains “strictly prohibited” because the area is unsafe.

“We have not been given a timeline to know when or if that will be possible,” management wrote. “Our current information is that personal property on 4th floor units could be a complete loss.”

The apartment management said it is working to find a way to search for and retrieve any belongings that may have survived.

Flores said that uncertainty made an earlier request involving his security deposit particularly concerning.

A difficult choice over a deposit

According to Flores, residents were initially asked to sign a document before receiving refunds for their security deposits and prepaid rent.

Flores said language in the document concerning when property would be considered abandoned alarmed him because he did not know when — or if — he would be permitted to enter his apartment.

“I don’t know when those 10 days are going to start for me,” Flores said, describing his concerns about the document. “I don’t know if I’m going to have time to retrieve anything that I need within those 10 days.”

For Flores, the issue was not his furniture or other items that could eventually be replaced.

It was what might have survived that money could not replace.

“I was almost going to forfeit receiving my deposit early just so that I could still have some sort of access to … things that can’t be replaced with monetary value,” Flores said.

Flores said he and other residents pushed back against signing the paperwork.

He said some residents initially received refund checks without signing before that process was stopped. Flores said residents continued objecting to the requirement and began speaking with news organizations about their concerns.

“After we started having communication with the media and stories started coming out about that, they completely changed their mind and said, ‘Hey, just come get your deposits. No signature is required,'” Flores said.

North Union Management’s latest written communication confirms the requirement has been dropped.

“We are no longer requiring any signing of documents to obtain the refund,” management wrote.

The email says checks are available for residents’ deposits, prepaid rent and July 31 daily rent. Residents can pick up the checks at the North Union Apartments or request that they be mailed.

Management did not say in the email why the signing requirement was changed.

Leases terminated

North Union Management also told fourth-floor residents their leases were terminated effective Aug. 1 because of the habitability issues affecting their units.

The termination means residents will no longer have access to their tenant portals and future communication will take place by email, according to management.

For Flores the refund could provide needed money at a time when displaced residents are suddenly facing the expense of replacing everyday necessities and finding somewhere else to live.

But he said getting the deposit issue resolved does not answer every question he has after the fire.

One of those questions involves renters insurance.

Questions over renters insurance

Flores said that when he moved into North Union in 2023, he already had a renters insurance policy from his previous apartment and intended to extend it to his new home.

According to Flores, a property manager told him he did not need the additional policy because insurance was already included in his North Union contract for a monthly charge.

Flores said he understood that to mean he had coverage similar to his previous renters insurance, which included coverage for personal belongings as well as liability.

After the fire, he said he learned his understanding of the coverage was different from the coverage that was actually provided.

Flores initially thought the misunderstanding was his own.

“I had kind of chalked it up to my ignorance, really,” he said.

But after speaking with neighbors, Flores said he learned other residents had similar understandings of the insurance arrangement.

“I thought it was just my mistake,” Flores said. “But upon speaking to a lot of other tenants, my neighbors, it’s coming to my attention that it wasn’t just me.”

Flores said he wants to know whether Keller Properties, which manages North Union Apartments, will change how insurance coverage is explained to future tenants.

“I don’t wish this on anyone going further,” Flores said. “You want to trust the people who are watching over your property and who manage the complex that you live in.”

North Union Management’s latest email tells residents who have made claims through their personal renters insurance that management will provide documents requested by their insurance agents when possible.

The email does not address Flores’ concerns about how insurance offered through the apartment complex was described to tenants.

‘Very messy’

Flores had lived at North Union for about three years and said his lease was scheduled to expire in October. Before the fire, he was strongly considering renewing it.

Instead, he is now among hundreds of residents trying to determine what comes next.

Looking back at the communication he received during the first several days, Flores described the process as “very messy,” saying information sometimes changed depending on whether it came through email, the resident portal or conversations with members of management.

Flores said he hopes what happened at North Union leads renters to pay closer attention to their leases, insurance policies and the companies managing the places they call home.

He also said property managers should consider how they communicate with residents during a crisis.

For now fourth-floor residents at least have a definitive answer on one of the questions that followed them through the week: They can receive their security deposits and prepaid rent without signing additional paperwork.

What Flores still does not know is whether he will ever be able to walk back into the apartment he called home for three years and recover what remains.

North Union Management said it will notify fourth-floor residents if conditions change and a safe way to retrieve surviving belongings becomes available.