CHARLOTTE, N.C. — People living in Arlo Apartments in west Charlotte are still cleaning up after a pipe burst on Sunday. The first and second floors of the apartment complex flooded after an 8-inch pipe broke. Residents are trying to dry out the mess after many homes filled with 2 inches of water.
[PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Burst pipe floods Charlotte apartments; tenants evacuated]
"It's comfortable as long as you don't like sleep," said Karl Parvez.
Parvez's apartment is now filled with fans and water stains from the flooding. While the water is gone, the situation is still frustrating for residents.
"I can actually walk around in my apartment. Some places are completely destroyed, and I feel worse for them," he said.
Residents told Channel 9 the complex will not be prorating rent or letting anyone out of their leases.
"That's been my frustration, is you can't really go anywhere, because you're still paying for this place," he said.
Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke gave his insight on tenants' rights in these situations.
"Typically, in these cases, the renter is in bad shape to start with," he said. "The renter can come back and say, 'Look, I was inconvenienced,' or ‘I lost money. Can you either reimburse me or knock something off my rent?' In a lot of cases, a landlord would say, ‘Yes, that makes sense. That's only fair.'"
Stoogenke said other landlords may not be so accommodating, and they aren't obligated to reduce rent.
"But you can make that case in court and sometimes you have to go that far," he said.