Arlington Eagle tenants concerned over 'horrible' conditions

Apartment complex tenants say mold, leaks not being addressed by management

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tenants of a commercial apartment complex in the city's Arlington area said they've living in "horrible" conditions that could be making them sick. 

People living at the Arlington Eagle Apartments reached out to the News4Jax I-TEAM because they said their requests to have mold, leaks and rust taken care of are being ignored. 

One tenant, named Nikia, said she called the city and was told that she was the 12th person to complain about the apartment complex in the past few weeks. 

"Horrible. If I can choose one word, it's horrible. This is not what I was promised when I moved here," Nikia said. 

It's been eight months of the same problems, Nikia said, and her calls to the management office have resulted in zero results.

"By the time I get home from work, my apartment is in the same situation as I left it. No one has been here," she said.

Nikia said she's embarrassed for herself and her daughter. She invited the I-TEAM into her apartment on Friday to see the conditions that she said no one should have to live in. 

"Right now, there is water damage on the ceiling. Every time it rains, I panic because the roof is caving in, and from that comes the mold," Nikia said. "There is black mold on the ceiling. The bathroom is horrible."

So horrible that her two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment has now become a one-bedroom, one-bathroom. She said she had to close the doors to her daughter's bedroom for the sake of their health. 

"My daughter's bedroom is right next to the bathroom. There is mold growing from underneath the carpet -- what looks like a mushroom. And it's black and it's coming up the walls," Nikia said. 

The I-TEAM discovered that the property had seven code enforcement complaints reported since Oct. 1 and it is currently undergoing six pending inspections.

But Nikia isn't waiting for the results. She said she's packing her bags next month. 

"At this point, I can't pay anymore. I can't give my money anymore that I work hard for and come home and live in the same conditions like this," she said. "Don't do people like this. We are human beings. We live here. We trusted that, as a landlord, you would take care of us."

The I-TEAM called the property manager twice. In the second phone call, the I-TEAM was told that some of the tenants complaining had recently been served with evictions. 

The manager also said that some are "upset residents who are having a bad day at work." She did not wish to comment on whether maintenance staff has tried to address any of the reported problems.