PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Residents of a West Oak Lane apartment complex say there are a number of urgent problems in their building, including a broken elevator, leaky pipes, heating issues and overall cleanliness.
The rental management company, which was sued by the state last year for similar claims at its other properties, argues the tenants are not telling the truth.
A small group of tenants and supporters protested outside Oak Lane Court Apartments Thursday afternoon, demanding their property manager to fix what they say are substandard living conditions.
Some tenants previously sent a petition to SBG Management Services asking to address maintenance issues, but they say their concerns are not being addressed.
Juanita Clark has lived in the building for a little over a year. She said she doesn’t have heat, and one of her windows has been missing a screen since she moved in.
“I’m using the space heaters,” she said. “I was using the stove to heat my kids up at night, but the stove blew out. So now I’m using the heaters just to heat us up,” which has increased her electric bill.
Kyreim Carter has lived in the building since November. She came from another SBG-owned building. Now, the thought of moving again is on the table.
“I’m getting out of here,” she said. “I might have to go. … What else am I supposed to do? I’m not just going to sit here and just take the torture. You’ll be a fool to do that.”
David Liebergot, who works in maintenance for the company, denies these claims. He said the apartment complex has been inspected and exterminated, and it has had functional heat.
He blames some of the issues, including the broken elevator, on the residents, alleging tenants or guests broke it. He said they are still waiting for parts to come in to fix it.
Liebergot also noted that tenants have not entered many maintenance requests in the online resident portals. Some residents said on Thursday, though, that they had trouble accessing it.
SBG also refutes tenants’ complaints about heat in the building. According to a letter sent back to tenants after their petition, SBG claims the boiler has been operational since October.
Last summer, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General filed a lawsuit against SBG for multiple violations at two other properties, including “failure to maintain safe housing and retaliating against tenants who filed complaints.”
The suit claims tenants at Lindley Towers in Logan and Cresheim Valley Apartments in West Mount Airy were living in deteriorating interior and exterior conditions with roach and rodent infestations, broken doors and locks, leaks and water damage, and sewage and mold exposure. In September 2022, many tenants at Lindley Towers were displaced after a piece of the building’s facade collapsed.
The Attorney General’s Office said SBG failed to maintain their properties, even after they were alerted of the urgent issues by tenants.