MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “They should fix it if we are paying our rent,” said Robert Agnew.
He told WREG he has been fighting for months at the Corner Park Apartments on Winchester Road where he and his fiance have been living for almost a year.
“It just makes me feel like they don’t care about their tenants,” he said.
He made a list of problems.
There’s a broken door frame that he said has him worried about safety.
“It looks like if you just kick the door a little, it’s gonna come off the hinge,” said Agnew.
There are electrical sockets that he fears are a danger.
“All this is loose here, like you can just snatch the whole socket out,” he showed us. “The MLGW guy told me if you all would have plugged something in that socket, you could burn this whole apartment down.”
There is loose wood around major appliances and shoddy repairs.
“A big hole in the floor here,” said Agnew.
He gave a list of the problems to the apartment managers more than a month ago and he is still waiting for a response.
“They said they would get to it, but no one came.”
Philip Oliphant, the managing attorney at the Memphis Fair Housing Center, hears plenty of these type of complaints.
“That’s what we do, day in and day out help people understand their rights and preserve their rights,” he told WREG when he sat down with us Tuesday.
WREG asked him what tenants need to know.
“The first thing they should do is document the problem,” said Oliphant.
He advised taking pictures and filing a written complaint, but keeping a copy for yourself.
“Our court system is evidence based and if you make claims against a landlord or if he makes claims against you, it’s all about the evidence, who has the best evidence in their favor,” said Oliphant.
If there is a code violation, such as plumbing or a leaking roofs, you have an alternative.
“Code enforcement will come out and inspect. They typically do that in a pretty timely manner,” he said.
You don’t have to wait for the landlord to make the call.
In fact, you can do it yourself.
” If there is in fact a code violation, the landlord will be cited. That kind of citation is your strongest evidence of a problem of a violation on the part of the landlord,” said Oliphant.
When your efforts fail, the Fair Housing Center is your free resource.
“We can help with some simple advice. We can do some lease review if terms of the lease are unclear,” he said.
They can also assist if you are threatened with eviction because of your complaints, which is illegal.
He said your lease will let you know what’s the landlord’s responsibility and what’s yours.
By law, once you make a landlord aware of the problem, the landlord must respond within 14 days. If they don’t, the Fair Housing Center will get involved.
Whatever happens, the main thing to remember is don’t stop paying your rent.
“You think, I am not gonna pay the rent. Big mistake. Big mistake. You can be evicted even if the landlord is in the wrong,” said Oliphant.
Also, pay on time.
Agnew is glad to know his tenant rights and his options.
“If they don’t fix it, I guess I am gonna have to take legal action,” he told WREG.
We contacted Corner Park Apartments where Agnew lives.
They told us as far as they are concerned everything has been repaired.
The Memphis Fair Housing Center plans to hold community meetings with churches and other groups to let tenants know about the services available to them.
You can contact Fair Housing at 901-432-4663.
