PETERBOROUGH – Former residents of the Walden Eco-Village have filed a class action lawsuit against their landlord, Akhil Garland.

The suit filed on Dec. 30 in the Manchester branch of the Hillsborough County Superior Court claims that Garland is required by state law to help them find affordable alternative housing, along with other financial obligations.

The group of tenants – Corinne Chronopoulos, Griffin Kelley, Michelle O’Mahony and Sarah Trento – are suing Garland, the Garland Family Realty Trust that owns the Eco-Village property and Utopia Living, a business that is owned by Garland that the lawsuit states was a party to some of the residents’ leases.

The four aforementioned tenants were among 25 Eco-Village residents ordered by town officials to vacate their homes last month. The order was a result of a Dec. 10 inspection of the site by a Peterborough Enforcement Code officer and a fire inspector, who stated that they found unapproved electrical and gas connections, in addition to nine tiny homes that were unauthorized as permanent residences.

Garland was told by the inspectors in a cease-and-desist letter on Dec. 11 that the utilities violations posed an immediate danger to residents and that those residents were required to evacuate by Dec. 16, allowing just five days to move out. It was also stated that Garland was responsible for finding housing for those residents until the violations were properly permitted.

Peterborough approved the cottages as transient housing for Well School staff without electrical or gas connections, when they were built roughly fifteen years ago.

The displaced tenants have retained an attorney. Garland has said that he has continued to help tenants find affordable housing.

The lawsuit also seeks to recoup the tenants’ security deposits, equaling one month’s rent.