BELOIT, Wis. -- Dozens of Beloit families are without a home after their apartments were found unsafe to live in.

The evictions came just days before Christmas.

The city of Beloit said the residents didn't do anything to deserve this. Officials said the owner of Countryside Village Apartments and a lack of maintenance in the buildings left a dangerous situation that left no other choice.

"It's hard because, with four kids in the house and Christmas coming up, and now we have to move at the last minute," said Laura Persoon, a resident at Countryside Village Apartments.

Persoon and her family had just one day to leave their apartment.

Since moving in this past August, she said nothing has been fixed. And she's not alone, WISC-TV reported.

"I haven't had heat in three years. No heat. I've been using heater fans, whatever I could do to stay warm and nothing's ever been done," said Mildred Sims, who has lived at the apartments for 16 years.

After dozens of recent complaints, and subsequent code violations, the city of Beloit declared more than 70 of the apartment complex's 112 units unsafe to live in.

"The conditions here continually get progressively worse and the owner of the property has not been reactive to our code enforcement efforts," said Chief Brad Liggett, of the Beloit Fire Department. "It's a liability issue for the city. We have to make sure that we're covering our liability and making sure we're doing what's in the best interest of these citizens. The risk was too great and I couldn't leave these folks in there."

Officials said Countryside Village's owner has been fined about $100,000 over the past two years in code violations, including $9,000 in the past two weeks.

But problems still persist, WISC-TV reported.

"The issue here is much more dire. You're talking about mold, spores and carbon monoxide; people (are) using space heaters to heat their homes. It's really an unsafe situation, so relocation is an absolute," said Marc Perry, of Community Action of Rock and Walworth Counties.

Officials said leaving is for the residents' own safety, but it's little comfort this time of year.

"It hurts for the simple reason -- it's a couple days before Christmas. All my grandkids' Christmas toys and stuff that I got them, it's not going to be a Christmas. It's not going to be a Christmas. Where? Where are we going to go?" said Sims.

"We know it's not the city's fault. We know it's the landlord's fault and it's their issue," said Persoon.

A number of social service agencies staged in the apartments' parking lot are helping displaced residents find shelter and emergency aid.

An emergency shelter will be set up at Central Christian Church in Beloit.

A telephone call was placed to Barry Chernowsky, the owner of Countryside Village, in Chicago. A person answering the phone said he was vacationing in Florida and immediately hung up.