A new Tempe resident is dealing with what she calls are unlivable conditions in the apartment she is renting.
Serena King said she moved in to the Tempe Manor Apartments near McClintock and University drives last week. But she isn't even staying there because she calls the complex unsafe and having unlivable conditions for her and her young daughter.
King walked ABC15 into her apartment where the dead bolt lock was missing from the back door. Instead of a lock, there's a hole in the door.
King said she paid $1,200 to move in, and she claimed she was shown a different apartment that she was told she’d get.
“It wasn’t even ready at all, it wasn’t painted," she said. "It was halfway, it was bad."
Around the unit, doors were missing handles, electrical outlets were exposed and vents were uncovered. King doesn't believe the apartment is safe to live in.
“You touch it (bathroom sink) wrong, and it’s going to break," King said.
Her biggest concerns are the broken windows and locks that aren't secured.
“They can get in here very easily," she said. "They can just push that thing open, you’re in."
King said she's told management she wants her money back. She claims a city employee went into the apartment complex and issued multiple citations for code violations. The City of Tempe is working on confirming that information with ABC15.
According to Tempe city code Sec. 21-37 (f), "Exterior doors leading into rental housing units or tenant storage rooms, which are reasonably accessible, shall have a locking device properly installed and in sound condition capable of the use intended by its design."
Under Tempe city code Sec. 21-35, windows and doors should be properly maintained, and exterior doors leading into the unit, as well an interior doors, should be in good condition and not have holes, breaks or cracks.
For King, this place doesn’t feel like home.
“I come to this and my daughter, I have a little girl, a 10-year-old, and I didn’t know what to do," King said.
ABC15 tried to reach out to management calling five different phone numbers listed on the sign at the apartment complex, online, and phone numbers provided by tenants. The phone numbers led to full voicemail boxes, a number that was out of service, and no replies.
