Local

DeKalb residents say they're fed up with moldy units

ATLANTA, Ga. — Residents living in a DeKalb County apartment complex asked Channel 2 Action News to help with a mold problem.

They live in the Hampton Village apartments on Tree Mountain Parkway. They say the mold is spreading rapidly. Mitchelle Newman says leaky plumbing and broken air conditioners are creating the perfect conditions for mold to grow. She says management has neglected to fix the problem.

"If we're paying you rent over here, where is the money going?" asked Newman. "That's what I want to know."

She says management took weeks to tend to a leak in her 6-year-old daughter's bathroom. Newman says a repairman eventually cut into the ceiling and stopped the lean, but the damage was done. Weeks later, there's still a gaping hole and new mold growing.

"I just feel like they don't care," said Newman.

Channel 2's Carl Willis attempted to get answers for her. Apartment staff told him they would get a manager. Instead, they asked him to leave and stalled until a security guard arrived. The security guard told Willis nobody there wanted to talk to him.

Allen Taylor says no one wants to  talk to him about his mold problem either.

"I'm not even sleeping in my bedroom," the resident said. "I have to sleep in my living room because I had to throw my bed away."

Now, Taylor has an air mattress set up in his living room. He also says can't store clothes in his closet because they get fuzzy with mold, and he keeps a fan on the floor to keep down moisture.

Residents say they need help and basic maintenance from their apartment staff.

"All I'm asking is for them to fix it," said Newman. "I don't want to break my lease. I don't want to do all that. Just fix the issue."