Some local governments have no local ordinances to enforce when residents are plagued by rats, spongy floors or broken pipes inside their apartments.
Gwinnett’s code enforcement office only covers exterior violations. Even then, some complexes have repeatedly failed to meet standards. In 2017, a county-commissioned inspection of all the county’s 129 apartments found that violations were “relatively widespread.” The report classified nearly half as “major,” posing the greatest threat of injury and loss of life.
Among the worst was Las Palmas Apartments near Norcross. Inspection photos showed crumbling foundations, rotting wood, and discarded furniture and other trash piled high outside its dumpsters and scattered in the surrounding woods. Graffiti praised the Gangster Disciples and Crips gangs, while first-floor windows stood wide open to intruders.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Code enforcement officers shared the findings of the reports with apartment owners, and began proactive exterior inspections of the apartments with the worst conditions, said Chris Hayward, deputy director of planning and development. Funding approved this year will allow officers to conduct these inspections regularly.
Yet today, the gutted remains of a burned-out building stand near Las Palmas’ leasing office, with blue tarps strewn over the beams of its missing roof and the grounds overgrown with weeds. The apartment was issued a warning Oct. 22 that they were in violation of code.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
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