Residents told to leave Long View apartments over safety concerns

LONG VIEW, N.C. — Dozens of families at the Hilltop apartments in Long View may soon be forced out after town inspections uncovered serious housing violations that officials said pose health and safety risks.

A water line has been broken for more than a month, residents said. Others said they are being forced out because of mold.

The notices on the tenants’ doors reads, “proposed ordinance to vacate and close.”

Joyce, a tenant, got one and isn’t sure where she’ll move now.

“Our building problems here are the roof and mainly the mold,” she said. “I have no idea where we are going to go. Everything is expensive. They’re trying to send us all to Lenoir.”

The town of Long View said inspections found issues, including severe sanitation concerns, water leaks and plumbing failures, mold and moisture damage, electrical hazards, inoperable smoke detectors, and units lacking functional heating or air conditioning.

Channel 9’s Dave Faherty spotted people on Monday using space heaters because they said they haven’t had heat for months.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Jamiah Gaither, a tenant. “It’s in bad condition. There are apartments with mold coming out the walls, coming through the ceiling.”

Millenia Housing in Cleveland, Ohio, owns the property. According to the notice, in 2024, The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development banned them from new contracts with HUD for five years because of financial mismanagement.

It’s unclear if any of the families get assistance from HUD.

Stephanie Youman showed Faherty the mold and holes in her apartment, which has a lack of water pressure, too.

“It’s bad,” said Youman, a mother. “I’m going to have to find a place for me and my family to go, and I’ve got three kids.”

Faherty reached out to Millenia but have not heard back. If the town of Long View adopts the ordinance next week, folks will have two weeks from then to move out.

VIDEO: Code enforcement steps in as tenants report overflowing dumpsters