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Gwinnett County family dealing with unwanted rat infestation
The Gwinnett County family keeps their apartment clean and tidy, but you can hear the rodent activity in the walls and see the damage. They say all attempts to move to a renovated apartment have failed.
DULUTH, Ga. - The living conditions for too many metro Atlantans are unacceptable. It’s been a problem plaguing renters for years.
The FOX 5 I-Team got a call to our newsroom from a couple who said they needed help. They described rats in the apartment.
On our visit we saw a very clean and very tidy apartment, but we could hear rodent activity in the walls, the scratching and moving around. And, we could see the damage they had caused in their home.
Alex Fontus showed us where he keeps his pantry foods in the refrigerator. It's a place where Captain Crunch won’t stay so crunchy, but the family has to do this.
The couple sent us home video from the kitchen. The lights are on. People are in the next room. And a rat, just casually meanders around. At one point, it heads up the toward the countertop then reconsiders and comes down to gnaw on a door.
"We were in the kitchen cooking one day, and it ran in across my wife's foot," Fontus said. "In the daytime. She was cooking dressing, and it ran straight from beneath the dishwasher straight across her foot back through the stove."
Fontus told the FOX 5 I-Team back in October that rats have nested in the stove. Inside the utility closet we saw more signs of rodents activity. He and his partner Jasmine Kearney said this is their third apartment they’ve been moved to in this Gwinnett County complex The Everett.
Online the property looks inviting. But this couple’s lease is with Traveler’s Aid, HOPE Atlanta, a nonprofit that works with complexes like this to find stable housing for marginalized groups.
"They told us because we are HOPE Atlanta they wouldn't give us a renovated apartment because we are in this type of program," he said.
The FOX 5 I-Team reached out several times to property management and to HOPE Atlanta’s team, but we have not received any statements or responses about the conditions at this apartment complex for some of its residents.
So we turned to Mara Block from Atlanta Legal Aid.
"It’s interesting because it feels like the tenants feel like they don’t have as much leverage because the lease is being paid by some third-party organization, but that’s not true. The landlord has duty to maintain the premises for any tenant who lives on that property," Block said.
The couple told FOX 5 the problems started the day they moved in here.
"A rat had eaten through the cords of the ice maker and the dishwasher as well," Alex said.
On our October visit the stove didn’t work. A Sept. 29 work order indicated a gas line issue. The couple showed us text exchanges with HOPE Atlanta caseworkers complaining of "unsanitary conditions." A supervisor said in those notes that they contacted the management at The Everett.
Fontus and Kearney told us the fixes don’t fix the issues long-term. So what are their options?
"It’s super important for folks to continue to pay your rent. If you don't pay your rent, you're gonna get evicted and the conditions of the apartment will not be a defense to that eviction." Block said.
- DOCUMENT YOUR ISSUES. Make sure it’s time-stamped either in videos, pictures, emails or a fax.
- CALL CODE ENFORCEMENT. Ask the county to visit the property and look at the problems.
- REACH OUT TO LEGAL AID. They can either help you or direct to someone who can.
In the case of Fontus and Kearney, they moved out. There were just one too many roommates in their home.
"We are leaving because we have a family of rodents living in our apartment They're eating our food," Fontus said.