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Painesville tenants cope with roof leaks, bedbugs, heating and sewage issues

Posted at 10:08 AM, Dec 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-08 10:08:15-05

Tenants living at the West High Street Apartments in Painseville report they've been living with roof leaks, bed bugs and intermittent heating and sewage issues for months.

The Painesville Building Department has issued violations to the apartment complex owners, but so far not nearly enough is being done about the situation, residents said.

Anngela Brown showed News 5 collapsing water logged ceilings and pictures of residents with multiple bed bug bites.

They're hoping KRI Properties will take further action in solving a variety of issues at the complex.

"Our wall in the bathroom is falling down, all the tiles are coming down, there’s a big hole in our bathroom wall," Brown said. "We have to use buckets and bowls to catch all the water and debris from the leaking roof."

Other residents reported sewage back-ups, interruptions in heating service and broken-up flooring and gutters.

Dan Smith said he's so tired of repair delays, he's now withholding his rent in an escrow account.

"With the landlords, they keep telling us we’re going to get to you, we’re going to get to you, and tomorrow never comes," Smith said. "My last rent payment, I just escrowed the last one.  I had to put the cash into the Municipal Court of Painesville."

KRI Properties responded immediately and said many of the issues were present when it took over management of the property in the summer.

KRI Properties issued the following statement:

"We have managed this property for only a very short period of time.  

Please know that our company is committed to delivering the best possible service to all of our residents.

Vital to that process, is the communication between management and the residents.  It is our understanding that each and every concern voiced by the residents to us has either been resolved already or is in the process of being resolved.

 Please provide us with the list of items they share with you so that we can resolve them as quickly as possible.  We would be happy to keep you informed of our progress on each and every one of their concerns."