Residents in the Liberty Village Apartments in Liberty City have complained for months of the poor conditions and lack of any help from the owners. But the city of Miami is taking the fight to court to try to help the residents.
The tenants in the apartments said the problems range from toilet’s not attached, no windows, shower’s that don’t work properly, and so on. Residents showed NBC 6 areas that leak every time It rains and other major problems that make the conditions deplorable.
“Every time I flush the toilet, feces comes up. That’s why I have a scrub brush to scrub every night,” said tenant Kalenna Ware.
There are also major safety and code violations in the buildings. There are no smoke detectors in some units, no fire extinguishers, and on the third floor there’s a dumpster in the hallway. Similar problems have been reported at a complex down the street that is owned by the same landlord.
The landlord is Miami Beverly LLC and it’s owned by the Vaknin’s. The family that owns the units live in a multi-million dollar home in Miami, far from the conditions the residents in their buildings complain about.
Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon said the city will file a complaint Thursday to take control of the buildings and provide relief for the families that live there. The complaint alleges the landlord owes more than a million dollars in unpaid fines and liens.
“At the end of the day, we want to help the residents have a better place to live,” Hardemon said.
