ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) — For the past five years, Stephanie Wilkes has dealt with poor living conditions in her apartment in southwest Atlanta.
Plumbing problems caused her bedroom to flood, the walls were moldy, and on top of that, her air-conditioning unit was not working.
“There is water everywhere and I keep reporting it and asking them to come and fix it and they keep getting new management every six months and still nothing has been done,” Wilkes said.
According to council member Andrea Boone, this is a common problem throughout Atlanta. As a result, she introduced legislation requesting that the Fulton County District Attorney investigate ways to criminally charge negligent landlords.
Things are now affecting the health of his family in the Wilkes case.
“Yes, my daughter has asthma, my two grandchildren have asthma and they cough all night, cough all night,” Wilkes said.
CBS46 tried to question management about Royal Oaks Apartments’ issues, but the leasing office was closed during our visit on Thursday afternoon. We learned that a new management team took over this week and they told us they would be renovating more than 60 units on campus.
Still, Wilkes hopes council members Boone will take action to ensure conditions improve.
“If she can do something to help us, we’ll be happy,” Wilkes said.
Council member Boone said that many landlords in Atlanta have become filthy rich on the backs of poor people and that many property owners live out of state and even in Canada.
As a result, Boone will speak with the DA, city solicitors and Atlanta police on Friday to discuss a plan to address the issue.
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