Local

Apartment complex cited for unsanitary conditions, replaces home goods, 115 complaints

Action News Jax uncovered a long list of complaints against an apartment complex that let a woman and her child live in an apartment full of sewage.

The owner of Camelot Gardens apartments has been cited by the City of Jacksonville for multiple violations from an insect infestation to unsanitary floors.

And we also found out that code enforcement has addressed 115 other complaints at the complex within the past year.

“The last few days have been, I can’t even think of a word for it, it’s been frustrating,” tenant Tierra Byrd said.

Byrd took pictures as crews were working to replace her carpet that was saturated with sewage.

“They did some repairs, but they weren’t done correctly,” Byrd said.

Action News Jax was at the apartment complex Monday and then again on Tuesday when management finally said they would make the necessary repairs to replace and sanitize her floors.

But Byrd said she watched as the sanitization part was skipped.

“Instead if removing the padding from the floor, they went to put the carpet on the old padding,” Byrd said.

We took her concerns to management.

“Nothing was wrong with the flooring itself. We were just replacing the carpet out of a courtesy and cleaning it for sewage,” manager Mia Edmonds said.

Action News Jax also took the pictures and Byrd’s concerns to Brian Sobolewski with Microtech Solutions, which deals with water damage and carpet cleaning.

“They’re missing the obvious sanitization step and or the drying,” Sobolewski said.

He said it is a category 3 black water sewage backup that should take at least three days to clean and not just an afternoon.

“The standards and guidelines specifically speak to concerns and situations like this,” Sobolewski said.

But management said the apartment is livable.

“It worries me because this place is inhabitable. I can’t just throw the whole apartment away, get rid of it,” Byrd said.

Sobolewski also said that the drywall should be replaced, but management said they weren’t doing that.