GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cathleen Young considered herself to be a good tenant. She paid her bills on time, was respectful of neighbors and only called or complained if it was a serious issue.
Young made one of those calls when she noticed water leaking from her ceiling. The leak continued to spread and drip for almost a month. Young said she notified management of the problem regularly, but nothing was done.
“I had towels and buckets in the hallway and living room trying to catch the water,” Young said.
The problem seemed to be getting worse and yet Young says nothing was ever done. She tried calling and emailing but it didn’t make a difference. Finally, after multiple messages and calls the manager had no choice but to do something.
“It was 2 am. in the morning when I heard a loud bang, my whole ceiling fell in,” Young said.
It wasn’t the whole ceiling, but it was a large chunk. The weight that was absorbed by the insulation was finally too heavy for the drywall to support it. The apartment had to be repaired and mediated for mold and mildew which meant Young had to vacate the apartment for a couple weeks.
“When (I was told) it was safe for me to go home, I walked in and there were maggots everywhere,” Young said.
At that point, she had had enough and asked the manager to break her lease so she could move.
“I called them and said I’d like to be released from my rent (lease) and get my deposit back, have a clean rental history and just get my deposit, she said no I am not able to do that,” Young said.
The next call Young made was to WFMY News 2. We immediately contacted the property manager and the owner. We explained what Young told us and asked for some clarification as to why she was not allowed to break her lease.
A few days later a decision was made to allow Young to move without any penalties.
“Thank you, thank you,” Young said.
The new apartment is nice and clean and most importantly doesn’t have water dripping from the ceiling.