CAMP SPRINGS, Md. — A Prince George’s County councilman is calling out the property owners for the current conditions of a Camp Springs apartment complex. This comes days after WUSA9 uncovered several complexes with no air conditioning.
The different conditions we are hearing about for residents are at the Tribeca Apartments. WUSA9 first heard about the issues in April, and since then we’ve been in contact with people who have been dealing with mold, broken front doors, and garages. Many of those residents have since moved out but some are still dealing with the issues.
“It has made me feel, like as a tenant I don’t matter, my voice doesn’t matter. That you all are only here for the rent,” said one tenant who didn’t want to be identified.
On Wednesday, WUSA9 heard from people who live inside Tribeca Apartments. We've agreed to hide their faces and alter their voices in fear of retaliation.
“I feel like I pay my rent,” the tenant explained. “I’m not a problematic tenant why can’t we get the same courtesy that the rental office is expecting.”
Broken doors and cabinets, unsecured parking, lack of hot water, refusal of mail, mold, and people experiencing homelessness living within the property. That’s just some of the list of things people said they’ve been dealing with since signing their leases here.
“I had a ticket in for maintenance, they never came,” another recent tenant said. She tells WUSA9 she has since relocated because the complex told her they would not renew her lease.
Several of them say they can’t even get in contact with someone from corporate, that's led them to document this and share it online, and with WUSA9.
“I just got the sense that they just wanted me out. So, it’s like we’re going to do whatever we can do to ice you out,” the second tenant said.
Prince George’s County Councilman Edward Burroughs III is stepping in. He sent a letter to property owners saying, in part, “it is my duty to ensure that residents of District 8 live in safe and dignified conditions”.
“Generally, when you have so many residents stopping you in different forms: online, in person, and in writing, you know something is happening,” said Burroughs.
He’s hoping to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.
“It’s important that we hold them accountable to treat our residents with dignity and respect,” Burroughs said.
The issues have been going on for months — back in April WUSA first received a tip from this woman who has since moved out, but she had the same complaints as others. Now current tenants hope for the conditions to get better because not everyone can just break their lease.
“In this climate, it’s not as easy to just pick up and move everything,” tenant one said.
WUSA9 tried to get in contact with the rental office, property managers, and even lawyers who the rental office forwarded us to for months — still no response. Burroughs said he has not heard anything from the company just yet but he’s confident that he will get a response and if not, he said he will continue to escalate it.