TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Mold lines the sides of the windows and the bathtub inside one neighbor's unit at the Miraflores Apartment complex.
While she wanted to remain anonymous, she shared the lengths she's taken to get rid of the mold herself after no response from the property managers.
"What I've been told by maintenance is they'll just bleach it and paint over it," she said. "I'm so worried because there's so much not being taken care of."
In addition to the mold and other unit issues, the neighbors face unreliable water and electricity.
On the morning of October 31, the neighbors at the Miraflores Apartment complex found they didn't have electricity and no notice from the property managers.
Another resident who wanted to remain anonymous told KGUN 9 that the power had been out since she woke up that morning.
"I was shocked when they said they were going to have the power back on in 30 minutes," she said.
The power didn't come back on until around midnight, she said.
Tucson Electric Power told KGUN 9 that there wasn't an outage on their end.
At the same time, a major leak was pouring water into the back parking lot for nearly five days, they said.
"We just barely got a notice about that today that hey we're turning off the water but they've been doing it all week," one resident said. "You can never catch anyone in the office, the office is continually closed."
The tenants said they are scared to speak up and some have given up on sending in maintenance requests.
"They'll find some reason or excuse to kick us out of our homes and this is all any of us have," she said.
For her neighbor, this housing is essential.
"I had no choice, it was either this or stay in a motel," she said. "I had become homeless with my kids and they had an opening and they were willing to get me in with section 8."
These apartments use federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The resident pays 30% of their adjusted monthly income and HUD pays the rest.
KGUN 9 spoke with one of the property owners, Thomas Mannschreck, who says he didn't know the extent of the Miraflores issues. He came to Tucson on Friday afternoon to host a meeting with the residents to learn more about their concerns.
"I will investigate and have people in our office investigate with me," he said. "There are changes that are going to be made and they are going to be made quickly"
The tenants said after the meeting, they're hopeful that something will change but some are still skeptical.
"I'm curious to see what happens and what goes on from here," she said.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
