ATLANTA — As temperatures drop, renters at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex say they feared being left out in the cold after learning their Georgia Power accounts had suddenly been closed.
Tenants at the Fairburn and Gordon Apartments told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln they were shocked when they tried to pay their power bills and discovered their accounts were no longer active.
“We didn’t receive any notice,” one renter said.
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The tenant, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said a Georgia Power representative told her the company had closed all tenant accounts at the property and transferred them under the property owner’s name.
“We were totally surprised this morning,” the renter said.
“Do you even know who to pay if you wanted to pay right now?” Lincoln asked
“No, I don’t,” she replied.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to apartment management, who said they were unaware of the change and would contact Georgia Power.
Hours later, the tenant said Georgia Power reopened her account after the station began asking questions. The utility company told her that property management had mistakenly reported her unit as vacant.
The incident is the latest issue for tenants at the complex, who say ongoing utility problems and deteriorating conditions have made living there increasingly difficult.
“It’s like you’re sitting here waiting for the other shoe to fall,” the renter said. “It’s always something, like the gas being shut off a couple of weeks ago. Previously, the water had been off.”
Earlier this month, tenants at the Fairburn and Gordon Apartments were without gas service for more than two weeks. Residents claimed the service was shut off because management failed to pay the bill.
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Lincoln has reported on conditions at the complex for more than a year. In 2024, the federal government and local housing authorities halted housing vouchers at the property due to unlivable conditions.
“There are several apartments out here that the floors have fallen in,” another renter said.
With vouchers no longer accepted at the complex, only a small number of tenants remain, including those paying full rent.
“It’s easy to say just move, but the other thing is the affordability issue,” the renter said.
Apartment management told Channel 2 Action News that a new company now owns the property.
However, city records still list the original owners, A & B Apartments LLC, as the property owners. The company faces dozens of pending code violation cases filed by the City of Atlanta, which officials say are still being litigated.
Georgia Power sent a statement saying;
“We understand how important reliable service is to our customers. We have worked with the resident in question to reestablish the account quickly. We take this matter very seriously and believe there was miscommunication with the new ownership and previous management for this property. We are currently reaching out to the eight residents impacted to re-establish the accounts. We apologize to the residents for the inconvenience.”
Georgia Power went on to say, “The power has remained on for each customer impacted. We have contacted the impacted customers and re-established each account on the list provided by new management.”
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