Code enforcement steps in as tenants report overflowing dumpsters

LONG VIEW, N.C. — The town of Long View is taking action after no one has picked up trash at an apartment complex in weeks.

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Code enforcement officers visited the Hilltop apartments after receiving complaints from tenants.

Several families told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty that they have health concerns as the trash piles up around dumpsters at the complex.

They said they haven’t been able to reach the management company that oversees the units.

Faherty drove around the complex Monday morning and every one of the dumpsters were overfilling with garbage.

He went to the rental office, but no one came to the door. Residents told Faherty that the office hasn’t been open for weeks.

Long View town official said they received a complaint on Sept. 22 about the piles of trash and code enforcement immediately got involved.

So far, they said the management company, Millenia Housing, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, has not responded to Long View’s requests.

Faherty couldn’t get anyone from the company on the phone on Monday.

‘This is bad’

Jamiah Gaither is concerned about letting her five-year-old daughter play outside.

“This is bad. This is disgusting,” Gaither said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’ve never lived like this before.”

The Western Piedmont Council of Government sent a letter to Millenia Housing, which owns the complex, warning them about code violations that also included photos of the trash.

A resident believes more needs to be done. His family has started to see rats.

“We had one in the laundry room,” said parent and resident Michael Pope. “There were kids coming out, running out, like screaming about it. That’s ridiculous. We don’t need that.”

Channel 9 learned in March 2024, HUD barred Millenia from doing any more business with the federal government, cutting off the company’s access to new Section 8 housing vouchers for five years.

One tenant, who asked not to be identified, said trash isn’t the only problem. Some of the apartments also have mold.

“My thoughts are it’s wrong and we deserve better. It’s unacceptable,” the tenant said.

The letter gives Millenia 14 days to clean up the mess before fines of $50 a day start. An emergency meeting by Long View is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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