ATLANTA — Black mold and water leaks have long been a cause of concern for tenants at the Delta Appletree Townhomes in Southwest Atlanta, and neighbors say they’re fed up with the conditions.
They say for months, maintenance requests for mold and water leaks have gone ignored, something that’s been documented by code enforcement officials here in Atlanta.
“It’s not safe for my wife or my kids,” neighbor Cruze Bell said to Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln.
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For people living at the Delta Appletree Townhomes Apartments on Campbellton Road, it was hoped the announcement of new management would usher in much-needed renovations.
“Now I’m getting roaches,” neighbor Wayne Hunt said. “I never had roaches until the last couple of weeks.”
After several months, neighbors say not much has changed.
“This is a gutter that totally collapsed,” Hunt said. “It’s been nine months now since this happened.”
Hunt and Bell say they’ve been dealing with water damage for months.
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“I have a leak inside my kitchen that’s been going on continually for 38 days,” Hunt said.
Bell says the ceiling in their bathroom collapsed from a water leak, and the mold growing inside was ignored for so long, it’s now sprouting mushrooms.
Saneatha Williams fears their floor will collapse soon, mimicking a similar headline after a Dekalb County woman fell several feet after her balcony collapsed.
“It was leaking, and that’s what caused the floor to go in the first time,” Williams said.
Hunt says he’s collected more than 40 signatures in a petition to the owners demanding changes.
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Channel 2 learned the property is owned by Dasmen Residential.
We also learned from the property manager after visiting the leasing office that she was unaware of the maintenance complaints, and says the property plans on addressing them.
We also the found the City of Atlanta’s Code Enforcement case load report, which showed investigators were called to complex nearly 50 times between 2019 and 2021 for concerns regarding exposed wiring, sewage, and heat or air conditioning.
The State of Georgia says code enforcement inspections can either be proactive or reactive, depending on the municipality.
In cities like Brookhaven, they’ve initiated the proactive approach through their apartment inspection program to ensure properties stay up to code, inspecting at least one complex a month.
“I want to move, I want to,” Williams said. “I want her to be able to at least be able to put us in a better unit.”
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