6 days ago
Knoxville family wants ‘substandard' conditions at apartment fixed
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A young Knoxville family is paying a lot of money for what they call a 'substandard apartment.'
They showed 6 News what appears to be violations of the Landlord-Tenant Act. Provisions in the act require a habitable and safe dwelling. For example, the home is free from hazards, and steps are being taken by the landlord to make repairs. The renters we met say they have none of that.
Makayla Phillips is like all mothers. She wants a safe, clean place for her kids. But that's not what she and the father of her children have. They live at Bramblewood Townhomes and apartments in Knoxville. Their lease for $975 a month was signed in late February. But there are problems.
For example, there is no hot water. A video shows a rat skittering across their kids' bedroom. The apartment's back porch is dangerous. It's collapsed. Their refrigerator and freezer is not cold enough. And, there's more.
'So the A/C has not worked. We have not had heat or air for the whole time we have been here. They were supposed to be exchanging parts for it, but it has been left open, wires exposed, and still has not been repaired,' said Mikey Johnson.
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'Everything in [the refrigerator] is bad. It will go in and out. We have told them multiple times about it. Every single thing in here and de-thawed, re-thawed. It keeps on going in and out. Sometimes it will leak. That's what this is from. It tore the whole floor up from it leaking,' said Phillips.
We noticed management closed the pool at the complex. What we saw behind the locked gates were appliances. There are a lot of them, and they're exposed to the elements.
'This is one of the refrigerators they just brought us. But they have an old pool down there that is filled with old refrigerators. They just pull it out of there and bring it to us. We clean all the mold, and there is still stuff that hasn't come off,' said Phillips.
Johnson said apartment maintenance moved their stove into the center of the kitchen more than a week ago. The electric burners don't work because the stove is unplugged.
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'They told us they were going to be getting us a new one. But they said they would not be putting a new stove in here until the rat problem is gone,' said Johnson. He showed 6 News a hole where pest control told them the rats were coming from.
In addition, a hole in the kitchen ceiling has not been repaired yet.
'When we first moved in, we had a water leak that we didn't know about and maintenance didn't catch it,' said Johnson.
The leak was fixed, but the cardboard remains.
'We've had to go and stay at places because of the rats. We've had to go to places to cook,' said Phillips.
The apartment has water, but Phillips says there's no hot water. That's likely because the water heater isn't working properly. In the children's bedroom, we asked about the rats that were caught on camera.
'They're coming here right here in between the wall. They're in the whole building really. Basically, there's been an infestation,' said Johnson.
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Outside, there is a dangerous issue with the porch.
'So when we moved in, it was unlevel. I've tried to jack it up and put some boards under it to make it safer. Now the trusses underneath have completely snapped in half,' said Johnson.
We called the apartment office for a response to these issues last week, but no one answered, and the voicemail was full. We caught up with the landlord later by phone. Jim McSpadden blamed the issues on Phillips and Johnson, saying they created the problems. He said they accepted the apartment 'as is' when they moved in three months ago, and he said the couple stopped paying their rent recently. Johnson admits he has not paid May's rent because nothing has been fixed, but he says he did pay March and April's rent. For Phillips, all she wants is a safe place for her children.
'I want to be able to cook for my kids. I don't want to have to worry about where my kids sleep so they don't get bitten by rats,' said Phillips.
Under state law, landlords must make necessary repairs and take steps to keep their property habitable. But it seems like that's not going to happen for Johnson and Phillips. The landlord tells us, since the couple knew of the problems, they accepted their unit as is. He said they made the apartment worse, creating even more issues, and they are behind in their rent. But as Johnson and Phillips told us, they asked that repairs be made, but then gave up, and held back their rent for May. Finally, the landlord told us he would begin legal proceedings to evict the couple.
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