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Displaced tenants upset with landlord after apartment fire

5 years 4 months 2 weeks ago Monday, November 12 2018 Nov 12, 2018 November 12, 2018 5:47 PM November 12, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Two days after a fire gutted the Goodwood Place apartment complex, families are back to pick up the pieces.

"It's over. It's gone. Everything is gone," said Darsha Jarvis. "You're life is in ashes."

Now, tenants feel they are being taken advantage of by their landlord. 

"For one thing, we're not gonna get the rent that we paid this month, we're not gonna get our deposit back," said Jarvis. 

Jarvis inquired about moving into one of the empty apartments on the lot, and was told they needed time to get it in order. She also claims the manager said she may have to pay a new deposit since her lease was terminated after the fire. 

"We're like, why would we? It wasn't our fault," she said. 

Also coming to light, an issue that may have kept the fire burning for longer than it should have. The closest fire hydrant to the apartments was behind a locked gate. The Baton Rouge Fire Department is investigating the issue.

The complex office wasn't receptive to WBRZ's questions about either problem. The property is owned by an out-of-state company. 

"Ma'am, I can't answer any questions at this time, I'm so sorry," said one apartment staff member. 

Both families just want somewhere to start to put their lives back together.

"At least make sure we all got somewhere to stay, because as of right now, we're all bunking with people. That's very uncomfortable. The least y'all could have done was get us a room," said Jarvis.

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