Action 9: Renters ask for help with problems at east Charlotte apartments

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Renters at Stanford Reserve near Eastland Mall in east Charlotte say they told management about issues at the apartment complex and nothing happened. The apartment management said they never received any complaints.

Either way, Action 9 got involved.

Angie Matlock said she never had any major gripes living at Stanford Reserve until recently.

"I would think it would be important to fix these little things so nobody gets hurt," she said.

She showed Action 9's Jason Stoogenke a box for a fire extinguisher right outside her apartment, but no fire extinguisher is inside.

"It's always been empty?" Stoogenke asked.

"It's always been empty," Matlock said.

Stoogenke called the Charlotte Fire Department to ask if this was a code violation. Fire officials said it could be, but since there's another extinguisher in the next corridor over, it's not a violation.

But Matlock showed Action 9 other problems, including a broken window with glass on the ground and utility meters breaking away from a wall.

Matlock worried about all the children who play here, including her 2-year-old goddaughter Eliana.

"After school, all the kids, this is where they migrate here," Matlock said. "I don't want my goddaughter to get hurt, or any other little kids around here, because we do have a lot of kids."

Stoogenke went to the rental office, where property managers referred him to Blake Thomas, regional vice president for Landmark Apartment Trust.

Thomas got back to Stoogenke within hours. He said renters never mentioned the problems, but his team would fix them right away.

"We're going to make it happen," Thomas said.

Action 9 went back a few days later and saw that they did make changes. The glass is gone and the utilities aren't falling off.

Stoogenke also asked fire officials about the apartment complex's inspection history. Stanford Reserve is on a 3-year cycle. Its last inspection, in 2011, was clean.

Its next inspection is coming up in January.

WSOC