Landlord admits neglect of water bill

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A Grand Rapids landlord admits he's left his tenants without water, refusing to pay the service bill.

Todd and Christine Bialas own the home at 501 Carrier NE. The home has two apartments and its tenants include a woman who is eight months pregnant and another who has a one-year-old son. The water was shut off on Monday, with an unpaid $900 bill.

24 Hour News 8 caught up with Todd Bialas as he worked at his used appliance sales store, Near Zero, on Saturday.

Bialas said he was "giving [the home] back to the bank on Monday" and that it wasn't worth it to him to pay the bill. He said he felt "really bad" about the situation, but couldn't let a property that he is getting rid of drive him further into debt.

When asked about the tenants who had paid for water service with their rent money, Bialas said he'd worked out a deal with one, but the other one, Sierra Moch, hadn't paid him rent..

Moch, however, said she paid him two months rent up front and that she was six weeks into that agreement. With bottled water in hand, Moch showed our cameras her apartment on Friday , dishes stacked up unwashed, and she described a toilet that was filled and unable to flush.

"We take bathroom breaks at McDonalds," she explained.

Moch said her phone calls to Bialas about the shut off water have gone ignored. She is looking for another place to stay.

The house on Carrier NE is the last of the Bialas' numerous properties. All are now abandoned and in some form of foreclosure. In September, water at one of the Bialas' properties on Third Street NW was also shut off , after the water bill had not been paid for months.

Bialas said he's looking forward to washing his hands of the rental property business.