CLARKSTON, Ga. — A resident of a Clarkston apartment complex contacted 11Alive, complaining of mold, garbage disposal back-ups, and a mildew smell.
When one of the tenants posted about it on social media, a resident received a notice of lease termination.
DeKalb County Code Enforcement confirms that there is an active investigation into the Village at the Creek Apartments.
When 11Alive started looking into this story, three other residents also reached out complaining of similar issues.
Molanda Hargrove said she's been complaining for months.
"I ended up having to call for an emergency inspection because they just weren't fixing anything," Hargrove said.
Hargrove said she even credits the potential mold as the reason for health concerns for herself and her son.
"Is this the reason why he's been coughing every night? Is this the reason he's been passing out at football? Is this the reason why I've been getting frequent headaches?" Hargrove said.
After complaining to maintenance and her complex for weeks, Hargrove said she's now fed up. She went to the leasing office to complain in person -- while recording the exchange on her phone.
"They told me I could not film in the office," Hargrove said. "So, I took my arguments outside. And I began to protest outside by listing everything that's wrong with my apartment."
A neighbor, who also lives at the complex, posted about their woes on the social media app Nextdoor.
Hargrove said that's when the complex finally started working on the problems. However, shortly after, Hargrove said they gave her a notice of lease termination, citing that "any form of verbally or physically abusive, intimidating, or aggressive behavior directed at the apartment owner, management, management employees, or any other person is prohibited."
The notice added, "residents... shall not use the internet or cyberspace in any manner to disparage, defame, or injure the business..." and "any photos or video of management employees or the apartment community or signage" shall not be published.
Attorney Tom Salata said he's worked cases like this before. He said owners are aggressive about anything posted negatively about them on social media.
"A defamatory statement, whether it's spoken or written, has to be false, and the person making it has to know it's false with the intent to injure the business's reputation of that particular corporation or landlord," Salata said.
Salata suggested residents read their lease and ask questions ahead because though tenants can fight it, they don't want to. And when you have issues, document everything, get responses in writing, and get a time frame on when the problem will be fixed.
"Contract clauses are arbitrary," Salata said. "It's vague, which means that it favors the landlord. It appears as though it'd be very easy for them to claim any sort of circumstances that would justify them in breaking the lease."
Hargrove said she never received a copy of the lease. After she added 11Alive on an email requesting one, they finally sent it back. The complex, now owned by Communidad Partners, was recently taken over by new management.
According to County Code Enforcement, they inspected Hargrove's unit twice in June. On the June 28 inspection, they found that floors and walls showed mold growth, the sink needed repairs for water damage, and they needed to provide pest control. They will return this week to inspect it again.
Code enforcement could not share any other information about the investigation.
Salata said to be cautious about what you say online to avoid litigation or a bad relationship with your landlord.
"I'm hoping for justice. I'm hoping that instead of sending retaliatory letters that they can actually just do their job and fix these apartments," Hargrove said.
11Alive reached out to Communidad Partners multiple times on Wednesday but did not receive a response.