Matt Foil is like any other University student worrying about exams the fourth week into the semester, and now he’s being forced to pack up and find a new apartment.Foil, business sophomore, was sleeping when a friend called to tell him there was a letter taped to his Highland Plantation apartment door. The letter told him his lease was terminated, and he had to leave by Sept. 30.Residents at one of the townhouses at Highland Plantation were notified Friday of their terminated leases and mandatory evictions. The residents received a letter of notification Friday saying the townhouse is being renovated because of Hurricane Gustav’s damage.”Due to extensive repairs, we are terminating your lease,” the letter read. “Debris from demolition … will be present for an unspecified period of time.”Foil said he asked a complexmanager about legally terminating a lease in less than 30 days. Foil said they told him a lease can be terminated sooner in a state of emergency. “I’m trying not to stress out because I have tests this week,” Foil said. “But having to pick up and move after the hurricane and in the middle of September is hard to do.” Garret Breaux, a Highland plantation resident being evicted, said he came home from class at Baton Rouge Community College and found a letter on his door stating he had 11 days to leave the complex. Breaux said he estimated the eviction affects about 50 residents living in the townhouse’s affected units. Office workers from the complex would not comment on the number of residents evicted. The letter gave a number for Fairway View Apartments and Place DuPlanter apartments for residents to contact and find housing but did not mention anything about refunding residents’ deposit.Breaux said his apartment had some water leaks from the storm, but he was able to continue living there. FEMA came to the complex Monday and offered to pay for moving expenses, Breaux said. Rhonda Gragg, a resident’s mother, said she has lawyers trying to find out if the corporation can terminate a lease in less than 30 days. Gragg said a neighbor has reacted violently by throwing shoes and other household items out his door.Complex managers called for Baton Rouge Police Department to monitor the townhouse because of the problems, she said. R.W. Day and Associates owns Highland Plantation and other complexes including Oakbrook Village and Southgate Towers. Kristy Miller, R.W. Day operations director, said the company monitors the townhouse’s damage daily and decided residents must leave while repairs are made. The work will affect residents even if their apartment doesn’t need repairs, Miller said. Foil said he thinks the complex is mailing the deposit money back, but even then it won’t be in time for a new deposit he will put down at a new apartment, he said. Miller said R.W. Day will allow residents to temporarily live in one of the company’s other complexes and pay the same rate as Highland Plantation while repairs are made.There is no estimated time line for the townhouse’s renovation, Miller said. —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]