Woman says sinkholes are swallowing her home's backyard

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A metro woman's backyard is sinking.
 
"It's dangerous," said Kevesha Dayes.
 
Dayes lives in the Oakley Township subdivision in south Fulton County with her family. She currently has five sinkholes on her property and said she no longer allows her kids to play in the backyard.
 
Dayes said she has had seven sinkholes in the last four years. She told Channel 2's Erica Byfield she noticed the first two in 2010 and contacted the subdivision developer, D. R. Horton.
 
Dayes said D.R. Horton staff filled in those holes but are refusing to address the rest.
 
"They are just going to tell me we don't cover landscaping," Dayes said.
 
Byfield asked, "You're thinking this is not a landscaping issue?"
 
"It is not a landscaping issue, because they are not making the property look good they are not grooming the trees or anything like that it's fixing a problem," Dayes responded.
 
Byfield found Dayes' neighbors also have sinkholes.
 
Pointing to a large sink hole Saleem Lakhani said, "This is slowly moving towards the foundation of the house. One day the house may not be standing as tall as it does today."
 
He added he is also afraid he'll never be able to sell his house.
 
Byfield called and emailed a spokesperson for D.R. Horton.  Via email Jessica Hansen said the company will look into Dayes' claims.
 
Channel 2 Action News also reached out to a representative for Fulton County.  Ericka Davis said the county will send an inspector to Dayes' property.
 
Dayes and Lakhani live on Gossamer Street.
 
There properties back up to a steep hill.
 
Lakhani is concerned his property may slide off the foundation.
 
"We paid good money for this house, why shouldn't they come out and take care of this? It seems like it was a planning issue," Lakhani said.

D.R. Horten released a statement to Channel 2:

D.R. Horton recently became aware of a homeowner's concern regarding three holes in their backyard, two of which were located outside of the homeowner's fence and around yard drains.  The drains were covered with leaves and debris and, as a result, not functioning properly. Proper maintenance of the yard drains was recommended to the homeowner, as it appears these holes are associated with soil erosion due to drainage issues not unusual when leaves and debris accumulate.  The cause of the third hole is unknown and we are currently evaluating the conditions to determine the cause.

The satisfaction of our homeowners is a top priority and we encourage any homeowner to contact us directly if they ever have concerns with their home. We are committed to superior customer service and providing families with quality homes and neighborhoods in the Atlanta area.

WSBTV