Glendale apartment air conditioning failure triggers attorney general legal action
Glendale residents left without A/C in dangerous 'hotbox' apartments
Residents at Spectra West Apartments in Glendale say they lack reliable cooling, prompting a formal demand letter from Attorney General Mayes setting a strict two-day deadline. FOX 10's Andrew Christiansen learns what residents have to say.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - As Arizona faces some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far, people living at the Spectra West Apartments in Glendale say they do not have reliable air conditioning. Now, Attorney General Kris Mayes is stepping in.
What we know:
People living at the complex say they have air conditioning for a small period of time, and then it will go out for hours.
Attorney General Mayes sent the property owner and management company a formal cease and desist letter on July 8 calling the situation unacceptable and setting a July 10 deadline to get the air conditioning working again.
What Residents Are Saying:
"I'm in a hotbox. It feels like a death trap to me," said Sandra Bispo, a resident at Spectra West Apartments. "Four walls and a roof. This is not a home," Bispo said.
Going without air conditioning is something the 65-year-old Bispo says has gotten worse in the past year. She says the lack of cooling affects her autoimmune condition called Sjogren disease.
"I start sweating. I will start itching because of the psoriasis, will cause my joints to start hurting. I'm getting headaches," Bispo said.
Dig deeper:
Lauren Bonaparte, her neighbor, is worried about her dog, so she stayed home from work.
"I'm missing out on income. I'm missing out on going to doctor's appointments," Bonaparte said.
Bonaparte says her thermostat does not work all the time.
"Sometimes I have to put that in there to let it go or not. It's not really working now again," Bonaparte said, showing FOX10 her broken thermostat.
Why you should care:
A call from FOX 10 to the Spectra West Apartments' front office went unanswered.
"All the office told me was I'm sorry. Every single day we're working on it, we're working on it, we're working on it, but every single day it goes out," Bispo said.
Big picture view:
Asset Living, the property management company, says they ended their relationship with the apartments last week because of this and past issues. They are working with the City of Glendale to transition the apartments to another property management team and find resident accommodations.
What's next:
Attorney General Mayes is demanding they and the apartments fix the air conditioning by July 10 and bring in portable air conditioning units or give residents housing.
"It makes us feel great, and we know that someone's on our side to help us because we are not safe here," Bispo said.
Residents say they are still waiting for those portable air conditioning units or offers for temporary housing. If the property owners miss Friday's 5 p.m. deadline, the attorney general says they could face fines of up to $10,000 for every violation. A follow-up will occur that day to see if the air gets turned back on.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Sandra Bispo, Lauren Bonaparte, Asset Living, and Attorney General Mayes.