LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Rosalyn Williams has lived at Autumn Ridge apartments for the last seven years, and according to her, the living conditions have been going downhill ever since.
Her apartment has not had heat for more than a week. She says the complex knew her furnace had issues, and they did fix it, the work was never inspected.
Fearing for her own safety, she called Consumers Energy to check it out.
She shared a document saying crews found a gas leak yesterday and turned off her heat.
To make matters worse, Williams showed 6 News an e-mail from the apartment complex saying she has to move out.
Now, she says she is left with nowhere to go.
“It’s really bad and nobody should be living like this and there is no help. I don’t know what to say or know what to do and I’m trying hard not to cry,” said Williams. “It really is bad.”
Autumn Ridge has yet to respond to 6 News’ requests for comment.
Until this is fixed, Williams says has no other choice but to live out of a hotel.
When 6 News Reporter Kyle Makin first arrived at the Holmes Apartments last November, he saw trash that covered the hallways and a roof that was falling apart.
Months later, little has changed, with tenant Monica Sloane saying she has been living with a hole in her ceiling since Thanksgiving.
Water is now leaking into Slone’s apartment and she said it has ruined furniture.
She added that because of the hole, she’s found bugs and rodents throughout their apartment.
When she tried to get it fixed around Thanksgiving, she said workers told her there was nothing else they could do.
“They came in gave us buckets a dehumidifier and said basically that there was nothing they could do here until they got the roof fixed,” said Slone.”Since then, it’s been a merry-go-round of ‘Well we are not getting permits, the city is not clearing.'”
Simtob Management, the company that owns Holmes Apartments, says they’ve had trouble finding a company to work on roofing issues in the winter.
Fortunately, the management company has found one and hopes to get the roof repaired in the next two weeks.
They added that any residents experiencing problems can move into a different apartment and that many people have done that.
Slone said she has asked to switch, but she hasn’t been able to do that yet.
We are aware of the ongoing issue with the roof at 2222 W. Holmes Rd. and understand the frustration these residents are faced with. We were made aware of the issue as soon as the incident occurred and have been working diligently with our insurance company and roofing contractor to get this repaired as soon as possible. With it being winter months in Michigan, majority of roofing companies do not engage in projects like this until spring. After spending countless hours searching, we were able to find a contractor to take on the project. They informed us of the difficulties we may run into with the snow and ice but ensured us they will complete this job as fast as they possibly can.
Any residents who have been faced with the unfortunate challenge of a leaky or faulty ceiling have been offered the opportunity to transfer into one of our newly renovated units with no penalty of breaking their current lease. We have had a number of residents transfer into these renovated units who are very satisfied.
The City of Lansing has come out to inspect a handful of units. Units 11, 14, 21, 24 and 25 have all been red tagged due to the current roofing situation and brought to our attention. Residents in these units have either already been transferred to a new property or are in progress of being transferred.
We have not moved any new residents into the building since we have encountered this issue and will not be engaging in any new resident move ins until the roof is complete and closed out by the city. Our contractor is on track to have this job completed and finalized within the next two weeks.We hope that you will include our entire comment on this story so viewers can understand all of the facts. Thank you.”
Simtob Management & Investment LLC
