JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A renter reached out to First Coast News about what she describes as deplorable living conditions in her rental home.
Issues that she says aren’t being attended to by the landlord even after multiple attempts to get things fixed. Now, she says being threatened with eviction.
She says she can’t afford to leave, but she needs the landlord to live up to their side of the bargain and fix the issues.
“I’m tired and I’m angry," Angela McPherson said. "We just moved to Florida. We want to enjoy it and we can’t.”
McPherson showed me the cause of her anger: these living conditions.
“I have pictures to prove what I am telling you. I am not sure where to go from here," she said.
McPherson moved from Wisconsin to Jacksonville with her teenage daughter. They've been living in a home off 23rd Street for about a year and she says there have been issues since.
Some of the issues are documented in an eviction notice filed by the property owners in November 2021. In the documents, JWB Property Management’s attorney says rent wasn’t paid.
McPherson responded with receipts and listed a host of other issues that have gone unfixed. The eviction was dismissed, but 10 months later the same issues persist.
“The air has never been working correctly, we have insulation blowing through the vents which makes my electric bill $500 a month," McPherson explained. "We had a roofer fall through the roof in April. There is still a hole in my roof. The oven has mice in it. We can’t bake because it smells like dead mice and feces.”
She said she contacted her landlord multiple times and is currently not paying rent until they address the problems. Now, she says they’re threatening to evict her.
I have reached out to JWB’s attorney and have received communication via email. I am waiting to get a response on her specific issues and if they can be resolved.
As of September 6, there are no open eviction filings against McPherson.
Attorney Seth Rothstein says renters have rights.
“You have to give your landlord 7 days written notice telling the landlord what the problem is (and) giving the landlord a chance to remedy the problem and then telling the landlord if they don't remedy the problem that you intend to withhold the rent," Rothstein advised.
For more information on renter’s rights, click here.
He says according to certain statutes, there are limitations as to which issues renters can expect landlords to fix.