People addressed Oxford City Council Tuesday about issues with a subsidized apartment complex. Tenants told council members the Parkview Arms Apartments are in disrepair, with people living with bugs, mold, faulty appliances and other maintenance issues like flooding.
They say the apartment managers are unresponsive.
"There's a lot of tenants living in filth, squalor, and anytime we try to request help from the landlord and the maintenance it's usually just a run-around," said Gary Landrum.
He requested to have health and city inspectors review the complex.
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Maria Johnson says she and her three children moved into the complex in February, and she's had problems with the property manager ever since.
"I've had to call Legal Aid," she said. "My apartment floods at least twice a week. It just flooded before we got here."
She recounted how neighbors gathered outside during a fire several days ago.
"Everyone was outside talking about the same thing: the stove doesn't work; the fridges are either too small or they don't work. They're old, so they don't seal properly so the food doesn't stay cold. The roaches, there's constant roaches. Just a day or two ago, I saw bedbugs."
Johnson says Legal Aid has advised her to put her rent into escrow until her maintenance issues are solved.
Oxford Vice Mayor Chantel Raghu says the property has been a high drain on police, fire and EMS resources, too.
City Manager Doug Elliot encouraged tenants to call the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) about the issues at 877-506-3552. He noted HUD entered an agreement with Oxford after a slew of public nuisance and maintenance issues in 2019 to inspect the complex annually.
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"It sounds like we need to get HUD involved again," he said.
Elliot told council members the complex is due to be inspected by the city this year. It was last inspected by the city in 2022 and all issues found at that time were corrected, he said.
Mayor William Snavely concluded by saying, "Bottom line, I'll just say to you — the city doesn't have control over it, obviously — but I think the advice to go to HUD is a really good one and we'll be looking very closely when we do our next inspections. ... You've brought attention to the matter and that's the key."
