Disabled veteran facing eviction from Colorado apartment for displaying American flag as it made 'property look undesirable'
Avana Eastlake Apartments -- owned by Greystar and located on East 120th Avenue in Thornton, Colorado -- has stirred a controversy after disallowing their tenants from flying the American flag.
A disabled Army veteran is now risking eviction after reportedly defying that rule, Fox News reports.
“I joined the Army because I wanted to give back to my country,” said Myles Hoenisch, who served nearly seven years with the US armed forces, including a tour in Iraq.
Myles and his wife display a deep sense of love for their country as one can find their apartment full of red, white, and blue decorations. However, the couple now says that their patriotism is apparently not acceptable to their landlords.
The problem arose just a month after Myles and Stacie displayed the American flag on their balcony around mid-June.
According to Myles, the property manager approached them just before Independence Day and told them the flag had to go.
When asked why she replied saying, "the American flag makes the property look undesirable."
“We can’t fly the American flag, which makes no damn sense to me," he said. “The country itself, and the pride of this country is not the same as it used to be,” Myles added.
According to the lease agreement between Myles and the builders, no flags of any kind are allowed on balconies.
Meanwhile, Fox 31 obtained a statement from Avana Eastlake Apartments that said: “We are proud to support our country and the Veterans who have served."
"Our lease agreement, which all residents sign, prohibits any type of flag displayed from balconies. We often remind residents of this policy and whether it is a college football flag or an American flag, we are required to treat all residents equally,” the company said.
But the military couple is not giving up without a fight. They have decided to risk fines and evictions by defying orders to remove the flag from their balcony and they are planning to focus on home-ownership after their current lease concludes in December.
That said, federal and state laws prevent homeowner and condominium associations from prohibiting the display of American flags. But according to Denver attorney Parker Semler, those laws do not protect tenants living in apartments.