The city of Fort Worth is cracking down on another apartment complex in the impoverished Las Vegas Trail neighborhood on the far west side.
City attorneys filed suit over repeated code violations and crime on the property of the Mira Monte apartments. A new inspection report just came out on Friday. So are they making progress?
One man who came in to help with repairs told NBC 5 the managers and owners have been working around the clock to get things up to code and improve security.
But many residents are not seeing change quickly enough and some hope the city will follow through on threats to shut the place down.
At the Mira Monte apartments, catching up with your neighbor can quickly turn into trading questions like, "Did you have hot water last night?"
"I pay $855 a month, and I haven't had hot water since I've been here for four-months straight," Antonio Holloway said.
"They have black mold, they have holes in the ceilings. We have a rodent problem," his friend added.
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The two said they've reported a litany of problems to complex managers, with no response.
City code enforcement's latest inspection report, released Friday, is 27 pages long. It lists violations from exposed wiring, to structural damage, broken door locks and missing smoke detectors.
Many in the complex are happy to see the city cracking down on a complex they believe is taking advantage.
"This is a second-chance leasing property," one resident explained. "So a lot of people, this is the only place they have. This is the only place they can go, and they feel like they have the upper hand. They have the cards in their favor so they can just do people like that."
But as always, there's another side to the story.
"They help people that don't have anywhere else to go," said tenant Yolanda Alexander. "I thought I was going to be homeless and then she rented to me."
Three years ago, Alexander was laid off, then evicted from her old apartment. That eviction record makes it hard to find new housing.
She worries if the Mira Monte apartments were to shut down, where would everyone go?
"There's a lot of good people here," Alexander said. "As long as you're paying your rent, you should live in normal standards."
Mira Monte managers did not want to comment. They have 30 days to fix all the code violations noted on Friday, before inspectors come back to check.
The city's lawsuit could ultimately lead to the complex closing for a full year. The suit is due in court sometime in the next six months.
