DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Two longtime residents of a DeKalb County apartment complex say their living conditions have deteriorated to an unlivable state, prompting them to seek help after repeated attempts to contact property management were ignored.
Marshall Langston, a senior who has lived at the Villas at Decatur off Candler Road for 14 years, said the problems in his unit have been building for weeks. He says he reported to management three weeks ago that his ceiling was starting to cave in, but he said no action was taken — until he reached out to Channel 2.
“Right here at this light fixture, you see the cracks,” Langston said, pointing to a damaged ceiling. “I went to them three weeks ago to put in an order to fix this before it even caved in.”
But early Saturday morning, the ceiling collapsed.
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“It don’t make no sense. It don’t make no sense at all,” he said.
Langston said he has paid his rent every month and even showed receipts to prove it. Despite that, he said communication with the property manager has been frustrating and ineffective.
“I let them know about the problem, then I texted her about the issue, then I left a message — and she hasn’t responded,” Langston said.
Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers contacted the property manager, who sent someone to inspect the apartment within minutes. But Langston said the repair was only a temporary fix.
“They put a Band-Aid up there because they didn’t fix the real problem which is the water from the commode, which is still leaking,” he said.
He also reported that his air conditioning isn’t working properly and says his stove has been nonfunctional for months.
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“It hasn’t turned on in seven or eight months,” Langston said of his stove.
Perhaps most concerning, Langston claims his apartment is infested with rats.
“I’ve killed 22 rats out of here,” he said. “I’ve counted every one I’ve killed.”
He now keeps rat traps in his kitchen and weights against his doors in an effort to keep them out.
“No one deserves to live in this,” Langston’s daughter Trayon Henderson said.
The situation has pushed him to start packing up and prepare to leave.
“I’m already planning on going,” he said. “This right here was the icing on the cake. The rats is what got those boxes in my living room that I’m packing up.”
Langston said management told him they’d be back Monday to finish the repairs.
Rogers reached out to the property manager again to ask if additional repairs are scheduled. As of Sunday evening, there has been no response.
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