BATON ROUGE - On Tuesday, dozens of occupants at Boardwalk Suites Hotel were evicted, with the hotel operator saying it comes as part of a court order.

Jason Trindade, the hotel operator and CEO of Boardwalk Suites Baton Rouge, said part of the problem with the hotel is the fire protection and life safety systems that do not work.

"It was in such disrepair that every single thing that I fixed, every invoice I paid, there's another thing that comes in. We've already spent 25-30 thousand dollars fixing life safety, and it's still not done," Trindade said.

Without a working fire protection and life safety system, a 24-hour watch is needed. Trindade said he needed the fire system fixed so he could pass a fire inspection and get an occupancy permit when he became the sole owner of the hotel. Trindade has a lease-to-own agreement with Manan Patel of BR-LA Realty. Trindade said Patel, his landlord, is the one responsible for fixing the system.

"With the lease option, they're the landlord, I'm the tenant. You can't transfer over the responsibilities of the life safety system, and you can't fail to disclose it to me as the tenant. That's where the problems lie," Trindade said.

The Baton Rouge Fire Department is handling inspections for the site and told WBRZ that Patel holds the permit, but when the business fully changed ownership, the permitting process would restart.

Trindade said he does not want to be responsible for a hotel without a working fire system, citing safety concerns, so he stopped payments. Court documents filed by Patel's lawyer said Trindade failed to make payments starting in Nov. 2024. This prompted an order signed in early Sept. 2025 for Trindade to appear in court for an eviction hearing on Sept. 25. Trindade was given five days to get all occupants out of the building.

"When we went to the eviction hearing, we were like, 'Yep we didn't pay the rent, that's fine, you want to evict us for that? It's fine, we want to give you the keys anyway,'" Trindade said.

Trindade said he has filed a petition for an ordinary hearing, wanting to sue for damages, and has also filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.

A security guard hired for the hotel said he is worried the hotel might return to conditions experienced under the previous management.

"Crime was everywhere, people were everywhere, activity was everywhere. He came in with a different set of standards," Onterio Palmer, a security guard, said.

Trindade said he was never told the fire system did not work, which he believes violates the purchasing agreement.

"[Patel] didn't tell me. We do believe he knew, based on all the violations and stuff. It's been a nightmare," Trindade said.

On Tuesday, people were told to move out. That same day, a new office manager was at the hotel. Residents said they were told by the office manager they may be able to move back into the hotel on Wednesday. The new office manager declined to speak to WBRZ.

Jae Moore, a prior resident at the hotel, has family currently staying there. She said the change may be for the better.

"It's going to have some new beginnings, a fresh start for everyone, sounds very hopeful," Moore said.

Trindade said the hotel is not safe for people to stay in.

"The hotel is should be shut down until the life safety system is fixed," Trindade said.

WBRZ reached out to Patel via phone call, who declined to answer questions about the hotel, the fire safety system, and when the hotel would reopen.