OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Troubling occasions are persevering with at a metro condominium advanced, as some tenants say they’ve been caught without air conditioning for weeks within the warmth.
“This could be a life or death issue,” mentioned Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City. “They’re going without air conditioning during one of the hottest weeks on record.”
KFOR first reported on the Creekside Apartments about two months in the past after some tenants had been without working sizzling water for weeks. We’re instructed that difficulty has largely been resolved.
But now, tenants say they’re baking in scorching sizzling apartments.
“I’m afraid I’m going to get a heat stroke,” mentioned Michael Milligan, a tenant. “I would say it’s probably about 90 plus degrees [inside my apartment] and even though we have fans running inside, it’s still hot.”
According to Milligan and Rep. Dollens, this difficulty has been reporting to the advanced’s landlord.
“They are ignoring these complaints,” mentioned Rep. Dollens. “They’re saying that there’s no formal complaints.”
The Creekside Apartments are owned by an organization based mostly in California known as Capitol Homes Investments LLC.
Despite tenants saying they’ve filed work orders, Landlord Jose Belman is insisting he hasn’t gotten any.
“I want to help everyone, we just don’t get the request orders,” mentioned Belman on a cellphone name with KFOR. “We can’t do much when we don’t have any work orders, as you know. It’s just the normal process… They’re working on that now to get that rectified.”
Belman mentioned he’s having a mechanical firm exit to the apartments to repair the AC both this Wednesday or Thursday.
Rep. Dollens says with Oklahoma being certainly one of six states within the nation without anti-retaliation legal guidelines, he fears it makes the state a chief goal to reap the benefits of Oklahomans.
“A lot of people at this apartment complex are afraid to speak up in fear of being retaliated against,” mentioned Rep. Dollens. “I spoke to one tenant last week who said that after he went on camera, he was told by management that he was looking at eviction.”
Milligan added that he’s been instructed he shall be “kicked out for doing what I’m doing,” referring to him talking to media shops in regards to the points.
However, Belman’s denying this – by way of a textual content dialog, News 4 requested if there was any fact to this risk to which Belman replied, “not at all.”
“It’s imperative that we do all that we can to get the attention of the out-of-state corporate landlord to get them to fulfill their obligations that they made to the tenants and make sure they have a humane and habitable place to live,” mentioned Rep. Dollens.
Dollens mentioned he and his crew are engaged on creating an anti-retaliation regulation in Oklahoma. He additionally mentioned he’s working with a metropolis lawyer to guarantee no tenants on the Creekside Apartments get evicted for talking out.
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