Families frustrated with sewage-soaked apartments
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — There are new complaints from tenants at a northwest Oklahoma City apartment complex. They said sewage and water started seeping into their homes along with roaches, refrigerator issues, and more.
News 4 first covered this story on Monday, but never heard back from management due to the Labor Day holiday, so we went back on Tuesday.
The office door was locked and the voicemail box was full.
While at the Council Trails apartment complex on Tuesday, several other tenants asked News 4 for help.
"They refuse to give up my rental history for me to get somewhere else to live," said Sharmene Vester, an upset tenant.
One tenant even showed our crew her apartment that also started to fill with water and sewage while we were there.
Tenants said they try to get help from management, but the office door is always locked.
Even though online hours show they're open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"Knocking on the door, knocking on the door, knocking on the door. And it's not open. They open when they want to and they close when they want to," said Vester.
While waiting to see if a manager would come in, a plumber and HVAC worker showed up at the complex.
He told our crews they were hired to fix the plumbing in Shawntay Manuel's apartment, but waited for management to get there before starting any repairs.
A few hours later, a manager finally got to the office.
She would not comment and told News 4 to call the corporate office in Alabama.
We left a message, but never heard back.
Tenants also tried to talk to the manager Tuesday afternoon.
"I asked her if plumbing was coming and she was like that's probably them, but she don't know because she just got here...so we shall see," said Shawntay Manuel, another upset tenant.
One of the tenants we talked to said her meeting with the manager was long and got some answers, but nothing set in stone for her concerns.
News 4 also talked to the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency.
They were only made aware of the issue after News 4's report on Monday.
They said they have been told the plumbing is fixed, but they'll be sending out their own inspector Wednesday morning to check the repair and also make sure housing standards are being followed.