You need to leave: Myrtle Beach motels say police refuse to evict problem tenants
Several Myrtle Beach motels say police offer little help removing unwanted guests and they are forced to provide free rooms and spend thousands in legal fees.
The motels filed a civil suit on Friday in Horry County court against the county and Myrtle Beach. The suit says they are being treated as landlords, despite the fact they are motels that pay the accommodation tax.
In South Carolina, motels and landlords face different avenues when they want to remove a person from the property. Landlords must follow a lengthy court process to evict someone. Hotels can remove someone almost immediately if they don’t pay or violate laws.
The motels are all located near Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, and some have reputations of being havens for problem behaviors. The establishments that filed the suit are:
- The Aquarius Motel
- Atlantic Motel North and South
- Sand Dollar Motel
- White Sands Motel
- Ocean Waves Motel
- The Boulevard Motel
- The Virginian Motel
- Summer Winds Motel and 7 Brothers Motel
- The Blake Motel
- Fountainbleau Inn
- Oasis Motel
- Sea Nymph Motel
- Sea Palms Motel
- Americana Motel
For the past several months, Horry County Sheriff’s deputies and Myrtle Beach police have refused to remove people from the motels, the filing claims. Deputies and officers tell the motels they have to file eviction paperwork in court. The motels have tried to remove people for intoxication, possession of controlled substances, possession of firearms, violation of laws, violation of property rules or simply not paying.
The hotels objected to being called landlords, but still filed eviction paperwork — and paid the associated costs. A judge has told the motels they are landlords, the lawsuit said, but that decision is “simply wrong.”
“[The motels] pay accommodations taxes, thereby recognizing them as hotels or motels, while at the same time labeling them ‘landlords’ when such classification suits them in Court, which is totally inconsistent, illogical and irreconcilable,” the suit reads.
Since police have not evicted the tenants, the motels claim they had to pay for legal fees, court filings and essentially provide free rooms while the process went through court.
The motels ask for a court order that declares them innkeepers and not landlords.
Both, county spokeswoman Kelly Moore and city spokesman Mark Kruea said it’s policy not to comment on pending litigation. Several representatives at the motels on Friday said they could not speak on the lawsuit.
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
