Residents forced out after apartment complex found not up to code

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Residents at an apartment complex in College Park said they were forced out and have nowhere to go.

People who live at Old Town Villa Apartments on Godby Road have less than 30 days to move out.

“We don’t have nowhere else to go, so we live as good as we can,” tenant Angel Hugley said.

The apartments are not up code. City officials said the complex has been cited more than 50 times this year.

“I am being forced out because of negligence of the landlord, not negligence of what I did because my rent is current,” tenant Marie Gallashaw said.

Channel 2's Lauren Pozen went to the apartments and saw raw sewage, broken windows, toilets that did not work and rooms soaking wet from leaks.

“Everything in here is wet because when you take a bath, it leaks straight through. There is no way to stop it,” Hugley said.

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Counter Property Management said it was unaware of the problems when it bought the property in August.

“With the city making the decision to shut us down, it was one of those things that we haven’t been able to take care of all the problems,” property manager Andrew Mahone said.

Managers said they will reassign tenants to their other properties if the tenants meet certain requirements, ranging from income to past history. The tenants said they may not meet those requirements and feel helpless.

"We are going to be homeless with our kids," one tenant said.

Managers said the company plans on tearing down the units and rebuilding, but the people who live there say that does little good for them right now.

Cox Media Group