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Water turned off at apartment building, management company unreachable
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BATON ROUGE - Tenants living at an apartment building say their water was turned off last month and they've been trying to contact the management company to find out why. So far, management has been unreachable and the Baton Rouge Water Company says the bill hasn't been paid.
Mark Carter has been living at Da Vinci Square on Harry Drive in Baton Rouge for the past four years. His utilities are lumped into his rent payment. He says when the water was turned off he left to live with friends and family.
"Nobody knows nothing," Carter said.
Baton Rouge Multi Family Holdings LLC recently took over at Da Vinci Square. Carter says tenants were brought to eviction court in April for nonpayment of rent. His matter was dismissed because he was able to provide all of his rent receipts.
Now that the water has been turned off, Carter fears it was deliberate.
"It's a sign that they're trying to force us out," he said.
Multiple calls to Baton Rouge Multi Family Holdings LLC went unanswered and messages have not been returned. The lights are turned on at the office on Monet Drive but no one answered the door. Carter says he was unable to pay his rent for the month of August because no one has been there to take his money.
"I got my rent, I'm just holding onto it until somebody comes and answers some of these questions," Carter said.
While 2 On Your Side was at Da Vinci Square Tuesday morning, a man pulled up and filled up a water container at the faucet on the outside of one of the buildings. Carter says no one is living inside that building but it was renovated about four years ago. Meanwhile, Carter says the other buildings still don't have running water.
"They don't care about us," he said. "You know, I'm handicapped and they got a lot of people that are disabled and we just can't afford to move."
Now he's stuck trying to figure out what to do.
The Baton Rouge Water Company says the water was turned off on July 26 for nonpayment. Tuesday, the water company says the complex satisfied the sewer portion of the bill and a reconnect notice has been activated. However, the complex still has an outstanding balance for water. If that balance is not satisfied within five days the water will be turned off again.
The water company says it has also been unable to reach the management company of Da Vinci Square.
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