Tenant issues continue at former Concierge apartments, AG orders inspections
Problems continue for tenants at a Rocky Hill apartment that flooded earlier this year, forcing hundreds to evacuate and stay in hotels for days.
Emily Louis moved into the former Concierge Apartments, now The Beacon, four days before frozen pipes burst, causing flooding and water damage in February.
Attorney General William Tong investigated and eventually came to an agreement with the owners JRK Property Holdings that requires them to pay $5.1 million to tenants at the end of February. Cash payments ranged from $500 to just below $2,000 per renter.
Since then, Louis said she has dealt with more problems, like a leak in her bedroom ceiling, an out of order elevator and a broken air conditioner.
“I did not realize it was running 24/7. It wasn’t registering to temperature so that’s how I ended up with an $850 Eversource bill,” Louis said. “It just gets frustrating if things just keep happening back to back and then your concerns are not really heard.”
Tong announced a second agreement with JRK Property Holdings Thursday.
JRK is mandated to hire a third-party to inspect the property four times a year and come up with a remediation plan addressing mechanical systems, plumbing systems, heating and insulation, and other health and safety concerns, such as compliance with health and safety codes, maintenance of elevators, remediation of mold and asbestos as needed, maintenance of necessary trash removal, maintenance of HVAC systems to prevent humidity and mold, and ensuring that building locks are working properly.
“In February, we announced an unprecedented financial settlement to direct millions of dollars in relief to tenants who suffered exceptional disruption to their lives and damage to their property. This failure should never have happened, and I am concerned that there appear to be ongoing, potentially serious maintenance problems. Today we are announcing a second settlement to impose aggressive accountability measures and communication standards to help ensure safe, reliable housing that tenants paid for and were promised,” Tong said in a press release.
The agreement also includes an on online portal for residents to submit work orders.
“This is about addressing our ongoing maintenance concerns and how do we prevent this from happening next winter,” Rocky Hill Mayor Allen Smith said, reacting to the announcement.
Rocky Hill Town Councilor Zachary van Luling said he’s grateful the attorney general stepped in, but he is pushing for stronger state legislation that gives towns the tools to hold big property companies accountable.
“We feel pretty strongly that these big, multi-state organizations that have housing in all of these different places, they really do factor as a cost of doing business that they might be hit with some of these violations,” he said. “The fines are not scaled to the size of these entities.”
While the town is looking to protect tenants long-term, Louis is counting down the days until her lease ends.
She said the on-site staff are doing what they can to help.
“They do end up fixing it at the end of the day, so I don’t think it’s all bad,” she said. “I think there is positives. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. One day, hopefully I get to see it.”
JRK Property Holdings has not responded to a request for comment.
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