DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. — After months of no AC and no answers, the Prince George's County Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) is getting involved.
On Monday night, a spokesperson for the DPIE told WUSA9 that North Hills Apartments has been issued a violation notice and must come into compliance by July 18. If they don't, they could face fines. This comes less than a week after WUSA9 first reported on how dozens of tenants didn't have working AC.
It's been a brutal week for neighbors at the District Heights apartment complex. Unfortunately, it hasn't eased up for some of them.
"The AC is at 94," said Leah Craig. She first spoke with WUSA9 on Wednesday, telling us how she hasn't had working AC for months. When she went to the rental office to get answers, she said they offered her a fan.
Well since then, a technician finally came to her home.
"They did come out to check it and told me I need a new HVAC system," she told WUSA9 Monday night.
Unfortunately, they gave her conflicting information about when that repair would be made.
"They told me to give them until Tuesday, which is tomorrow and they're supposed to come back out. That's what the order repair said. But the guy said he was gonna put me on the list and couldn't tell me how long it would be before he could come back out," said Craig.
In the meantime, they've given her one portable AC unit.
"This is the portable AC unit that they gave us. They only gave us one," she explained as she showed us where she has it. She says it doesn't cool off the entire apartment, but rather just one room. The rest of the apartment was averaging 94 degrees Monday night.
"This is not solving the problem. This is putting a band-aid on it," she explained.
On Thursday night, North Hills Apartments issued an apology to the residents. They told WUSA9 they were working around the clock to get repairs made, and blamed the heat wave as to why repairs hadn't been made sooner.
On Friday, the North Hills Apartments resident who had initially reached out to WUSA9 shared some good news. Her AC had been restored.
But, not for long. On Saturday, she came home to find her AC was no longer working.
"When I got home from work Saturday night it was 96 degrees in here," she explained. On Monday night, the thermostat in her apartment read 92 degrees.
Some of her neighbors also reported that they lost hot water over the weekend, in addition to not having AC.
WUSA9 reached out to the PR firm representing North Hills again on Monday and they shared the following statement on behalf of management:
"Restoring air conditioning to all residents as quickly as possible is our top priority and we apologize for the delays caused by the continued heat wave which is limiting the availability of repair supplies, technicians and replacement units. All available staff and contractors worked through the weekend to expedite repairs and install replacements as needed. In the meantime, portable units have been offered to all residents without air conditioning and we have two cooling centers onsite. We will continue to keep residents updated on our progress."
Those cooling centers they shared, are the model unit at 6501 Hil-Mar Drive, the pool, and the pool house.
They also told WUSA9 that one of the hot water heaters on the property temporarily went out of service over the weekend, but said repairs were made within hours and hot water was fully restored to the building the same day.
They say residents should call (240) 455-7518 or visit the office at 6501 Hil-Mar Drive to notify the North Hills team of non-working HVAC units and a team member or contractor will be dispatched to diagnose and make repairs.
On Monday, WUSA9 saw a truck carrying what appeared to be HVAC units on the property and saw crews installing one of them at an apartment.
"They've been doing things but I don't think they've been moving fast enough," said one of the residents.
On Friday, WUSA9 also reported on AC issues at Hickory Hill Apartments in Suitland, Maryland, and Capital Crossing Apartments in District Heights, Maryland.
On Monday, WUSA9 reached out to the county again, to find out what the status was and the Prince George's County DPIE sent the following statement:
The Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) is currently addressing the lack of air conditioning in units at North Hills Apartments in District Heights, Hickory Hills Apartments in Suitland, and Tribeca at Camp Springs. In response to these complaints, DPIE has issued a violation notice to North Hills Apartments and is determining next steps for both Hickory Hills Apartments and Tribeca at Camp Springs.
As of today, DPIE has not received any complaints from residents at Admiral Place Apartments and Andrew Ridge Apartments in Suitland, or the Flats at Forestville in District Heights. The Department will investigate each of these apartment complexes to determine if there are in fact residents that do not currently have working air conditioning.
The County encourages residents who live in an apartment complex and do not have air conditioning to contact PGC311.
A spokesperson for DPIE explained to WUSA9 that the violation notice notifies the property manager of the specific violation and details the necessary steps they must take to become compliant. They said that the violation notice includes a compliance date in which the property manager must have the issue resolved, and no fines are assessed prior to that compliance date.
According to DPIE, North Hills Apartments has until July 18 to get in compliance and the property manager has provided a portable air conditioning unit and fan to each apartment while they work to address the issue.
If you live in an apartment complex in Prince George's County and do not have air conditioning, you need to contact PGC311.