Outside Hartford City Hall, people rallied and tried to bring attention to what they consider rundown, dirty and potentially unsafe living conditions in their apartment buildings.
“The building is in horrible conditions. They seem not to fix anything,” said Yarazed Meinhofer of Hartford.
Concerns range from finding rats, to overflowing trash, to broken elevators.
Many live in apartments now owned by Maple Management and are facing rent increases.
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“It’s frustrating. You get to the point where you feel hopeless,” said Billie Terry of Hartford.
On Tuesday, they and other tenants from across the city spoke out at a city council meeting. They are hoping for the city to help out and also calling for bigger changes including fining landlords to the maximum for code violations and hiring enough housing code inspectors.
“They send city inspectors and they leave papers on the doors, but no one takes any action,” Meinhofer said.
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In response to the concerns raised at the meeting, Mayor Luke Bronin wrote in part:
“…Some complaints have been investigated and found to be unsubstantiated, while others are being addressed by new property owners. We take every complaint seriously, we will not hesitate to take aggressive enforcement action…”
The mayor said they’ve put in place the most proactive residential licensing and inspection programs in city history.
Still parents say they are at their wits end having to raise their kids in difficult conditions.
“Just pray that something gets done because it’s disgusting,” Terry said.
Tenant unions say they are hoping for an update from the city in three weeks about their demands.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Maple Management for comment but has not yet heard back.
