SALT LAKE CITY – A busy apartment complex in Salt Lake City has been deemed unsafe, and dozens of people are being displaced because of it.
Fire officials have “red tagged” the Georgia Apartments on 2100 South near 200 East. This means that the building is not safe for people to live inside, but, the complex could be repaired to make it habitable again.
However, there is a long list of violations that need to be addressed before anyone can live there. The violations include uncertified fire escapes, missing fire extinguishers, missing smoke detectors and non-functional sprinkler systems.
Some tenants say the building feels dilapidated with no heat and broken windows. They also say mold and insects are spreading inside the complex.
One man whose mother lives in the building says, “The landlady, she’s just money-hungry. She doesn’t fix anything and she doesn’t have anyone fixing anything. My pops fixes most stuff in his apartment. It’s just crazy.”
However, other tenants say there has been a rising number of homeless people breaking into the buildings and causing damage, but the property owners haven’t been able to keep up with the repairs.
In the meantime, residents were only given 72 hours to vacate. One man says that isn’t nearly enough time. He believes he would need 30 days, at least.
He asks, “I’m asking, really, 72 hours? I have a family of five, and you want me to just pack up?”
City leaders say they’re reaching out to the affected tenants to help them find another place to go.
“We’ve set up a mini office for these individuals to come into,” according to Tony Milner with Housing and Neighborhood Development.
The city is prepared to help displaced residents to help people find new housing and provide moving expenses.
“So far, we’ve already had ten different households come over and talk to us. We’re going through a range of services, which include tenant/landlord mediation so they can get their deposit back,” Milner says.
They believe there are 32 occupied units within the complex, but, they’re not sure how many people are living there.