Jacksonville's most vulnerable forced to choose between affordable rent and safe living conditions

Tenants at several Jacksonville apartment complexes say they’re living in dangerous, deteriorating conditions while paying rising rents to one of the city’s largest landlords. The News4JAX I-TEAM has been investigating Jarek Tadla, a Polish-born real estate investor, podcaster, and social media personality who calls himself a successful entrepreneur. On Instagram and YouTube, he showcases a luxury lifestyle and his real estate ventures. But court records and tenant accounts tell a starkly different story. According to the JAX Rental Housing Project (JHRP), Tadla owns more apartment complexes than anyone else in Jacksonville. Records show at least 14 apartment complexes, along with dozens of LLCs tied to his company, People’s Choice Apartments. “I could say a lot about Jarek Tadla and the other properties that he owns. His properties tend to have a lot of building code violations, complaints to the code inspector, and also a lot of evictions,” Katie Renzi said, a researcher with the JRHP.