DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — For Shuntaye Cooley, the list of maintenance requests at her Decatur apartment complex is a long one.
"No heating, no air conditioning, no stoves. Like, they refused to fix anything," she said.
Cooley said she's lived at the Villas at Decatur since 2019. The problems, she said began almost immediately – and getting those problems addressed is a frustrating challenge.
"We have to call code enforcement and social workers to try to get our stuff fixed, and they still won't get it fixed," she said.
Cooley explained the DeKalb County Office of Code Compliance has visited her complex at least 15 times in the last two years. The problems, she said persist even with intervention.
Cooley initially contacted 11Alive last week. She explained the mailboxes at the complex prevented her and her neighbors from getting their mail for more than four months.
The problem prevented Cooley from receiving her W-2 forms, prescriptions, and checks. Without this, she said she's not able to pay her bills, including her rent. The problems, she said have persisted to the point where she has to find workarounds.
"We only are able to use so many dishes. We are only able to use so much water at a time because of the issues of the plumbing over here," Cooley said.
11Alive has repeatedly reached out to the complex, First Communities. No one returned our request for comment.
11Alive also reached out to the DeKalb County Office of Code Compliance. Aaron Kimble, the director of the multi-family taskforce, explained the complex has been on his office's radar since 2019.
"It's been on there for quite some time. Unfortunately, it has been one of the properties that has required a lot more of our attention than other properties," Kimble said.
He explained he's recently been in contact with the complex and a remediation plan is in place to help bring things up to code.
In the meantime, Kimble said he's hoping to help Cooley and her children move into a different unit in the complex.
"She is one of the residents that I was speaking of in terms of trying to see if we can get her relocated. She and her family, as a matter of fact," he said.