WASHINGTON — A Southeast D.C. woman is glad to finally be moving back into her home after years of waiting for repairs to be made.
Just a week ago, Vennetta Hamilton's apartment at Orchard Park had extensive water damage, mold, holes in the walls and no carpet.
Now, the apartment looks much different. The walls are freshly painted, there is new carpet, working electricity, air filters , new cabinets and doors.
‘’It looks and feels much better. Just the air quality is much better. It doesn’t have that smug of residue or bad air quality in here,” Hamilton said.
RELATED: DC woman sues building owners after developing a respiratory disease caused by living conditions
In 2016, Hamilton was diagnosed with reactive airways disease. Her doctor's note says it was due to her current living conditions. She was back at the hospital in October with worsening symptoms.
Since then, she tells WUSA9 she's been living in her car waiting for repairs to be made. Even after the Department of Buildings issued a notice of infraction.
Hamilton reached out to WUSA9 last month. She believes sharing her story then, really sped up the process.
“I thank you for taking my phone calls and just listening because it starts there,” Hamilton said.
She tells WUSA9 mostly all repairs have been made. However, it’s still unclear why it took the management company years.
Our WUSA9 crews ran into one of the managers while on the property, but they refused to answer any questions and denied a request for an interview.
Hamilton will be in court next week. She is still suing the apartment management company, FARIA. WUSA9 reached out to the Department of Buildings several times over the past three weeks. They never responded.