CHARLOTTE — Eric Gass lives on the first floor of Archdale Flats in south Charlotte, and he has had enough.
His back patio has a low wall -- he told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke that people climb over it frequently, and he even caught them living in his storage closet.
He says he finally went to a city council meeting to voice concern and that he came home to find a woman dead on his porch.
“It’s taken an impact on my health,” Gass said.
The police report lists the death as natural. Since then, Gass added locks to his doors.
Speaking of doors, the main ones to the building are supposed to lock. But renters like Vanessa Alston say they don’t.
“We’ve had vagrants and we’ve had [people struggling with] homelessness ... living in the stairwells, sleeping on our furniture, gathering, common areas. It’s just not safe,” she said. “We don’t want to have to live in fear.”
Code enforcement warned the complex twice in the fall for the doors not locking. They called it “dangerous” and ultimately cited the landlord. But renters say nothing changed.
They say they complained, but got the runaround. “It’s always the same story. Nothing ever materializes,” Gass said. They say people who live here have even started their own rotation, patrolling the halls to keep each other safe.
“We don’t want to fight. We just want our rights. And we just want to live our life with dignity and respect,” Alston said.
Stoogenke tried to get in touch with the company that owns the complex multiple times and multiple ways since Thursday, but didn’t hear back in time for this report.
A landlord has to keep the common areas safe. We’re talking about broken walkways, loose railings, missing stairs, things like that. But a landlord is not usually responsible for preventing crime. You can always ask out of your lease, but the landlord doesn’t have to say yes and we all know moving is a lot of work.
(VIDEO: Some renters in Rock Hill face steep late fees, prompting calls for protection)
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