INDIANAPOLIS — "We are taking a stand today and saying enough is enough," said Dee Ross.
Dozens of tenants living at apartments managed by Kittle Property Group are calling on the Attorney General’s office to step in and investigate their living conditions.
“I just want it to be a safe home for my family because that’s all we really want. Regardless of it being subsidized, we all deserve a safe home to come to at the end of the day,” said Judy Stanger.
Stanger moved into her Lynhurst Park apartment on the west side of Indianapolis in May.
She says her biggest concern is that nothing is going to get fixed at all.
"The mold is going to make us sick. There's going to be my stove catching fire and it's going to take out everything," said Stanger.
She says work orders are going unanswered.
"My primary concern right now is the elevator in the building I live in. It broke down six times, this month and at least six times in July. The other thing is we need security gates now," said Cecelia Wisdom.
Wisdom lives at the Lafayette Landing apartments.
“It’s a senior affordable housing complex. There are four floors, and I’m on the fourth floor,” Wisdom said. “You have people in there with wheelchairs. One time a person had to call 911 to be helped to his apartment.”
Wisdom is one of the 70 Kittle Property Management Group residents to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office this year, with the help of Lauren Embry with the Indiana Tenant Association.
“We are calling on him to first investigate what is going on to hold Kittle responsible, but we are hoping to lean on our AG,” Embry said. “Our General Assembly comes back into session in Jan., so hopefully we can strengthen our tenant landlord laws.”
In the meantime, Embry wants renters to know their rights when it comes to living conditions.
She wants to remind Hoosiers they have the right to reach out to the Indiana Tenant Union and other agencies.
“You have the right to contact the health department and other legal services about your living conditions without having to worry about landlord retaliation,” Embry said. “You have the right to live in a safe and habitable place. You have a right to have appliances, air conditioning and heat working, and you have the right to not live in mold.”
Indiana is one of five states that doesn't allow renters to withhold rent when landlords aren't keeping up their end of the agreement.
That's something the city and AG's office are hoping to change during the next legislative session.
