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Tenants upset over lack of apartment maintenance in Tigerland

4 years 3 months 1 week ago Thursday, December 05 2019 Dec 5, 2019 December 05, 2019 5:59 PM December 05, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Some residents in Tigerland say they're tired of living in filth. They called 2 On Your Side Thursday morning for help.

Ian Hoffman lives with his girlfriend at Tiger Park Apartments on Jim Taylor Drive. The couple has been there for a few months and says they've had issues with the condition of the unit since they moved in.

"The wood has to be replaced my entire wall has to be replaced, my entire ceiling has to be replaced his entire ceiling has to be replaced the floor has to be replaced," he said.

Hoffman also addressed the unit next door to his, where the ceiling is buckling and a door won't close because it appears to have been chewed by a dog.

"You can see where the ceiling is about to cave in from the water leaking," William Bell said.

Hoffman's unit has issues with water leaking down the walls and what appears to be mold growing on the ceiling and on the walls.

The tenants are upset because they say their landlord isn't doing enough to address their living conditions.

"He's been aware, he's been aware of all these problems," Hoffman said.

Tiger Park is made up of about 110 units in the Tigerland area. The units are owned by Dr. Barry Wang, who met 2 On Your Side at Hoffman and Bell's units Thursday. WBRZ asked him if he would live in one of their units. The question wasn't exactly answered.

Wang admitted to WBRZ and the tenants that repairs are needed and apologized for the condition of the units. Wang also says Tiger Park is trying to address all the issues.

Soon after, while 2 On Your Side was speaking with Hoffman, Wang returned seemingly angry and told reporter Brittany Weiss and a WBRZ photographer they needed to leave the property. Not long after that, three Baton Rouge Police officers arrived on the scene to diffuse the situation.

Wang and the Tiger Park manager say they didn't find out about Hoffman's apartment issues until Wednesday. Both Wang and the apartment manager say they're not sure if there is mold growing in Hoffman's apartment, but they have purchased mold kits to test what they've found.

The apartment manager says in Bell's unit, the door that appears to have been chewed by a dog was in fact chewed by a dog. Bell says he doesn't have a dog, management says otherwise.

Hoffman says the apartment management has known about the issues, but he's forced to live there because the rent is affordable. He also fears if he withholds rent he'll be evicted.

"To move would cost more money than I could have any time soon," he said.

Wang told 2 On Your Side that he relies on his apartment manager to inform him of issues in the apartments. In this case, renters called 2 On Your Side saying their problems are not being addressed.

Late Thursday, Wang's attorney said this is the first time there have been any allegations of problems at Tiger Park Apartments.

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