Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Accountability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tenant testifies to chronic housing failures; Housing Authority outlines phased rehab and unit-return plans
Summary
Tenant Jada Henson testified to prolonged habitability and enforcement failures in Chester apartment buildings; the housing authority reported units offline for modernization at Bennett Homes and plans to return many vacancies to service within about 45 days, while noting copper theft and vandalism have raised costs.
A tenant's lengthy public statement at the May 13 council meeting accused city departments and property owners of failing to enforce housing standards and protect residents. Jada Henson described ongoing pest infestations, unresolved repairs and difficulty securing timely responses from property managers and city officials, and said Right-to-Know results showed missing or incomplete inspection records for some buildings owned by her landlord.
"I believe Chester has a serious housing accountability problem that's being ignored," Henson said, detailing her interactions with Licensing & Inspections and other agencies and asking for stronger enforcement, tenant-rights education and transparent rental-registration information that residents can access without long delays. She asked the city to provide a copy of her submitted documents to council for follow-up.
In a separate presentation, Althia Freeman of the Chester Housing Authority described an operational picture that included substantial modernization at the Bennett Homes and other properties: numerous units removed from service for redevelopment or repairs, some offline for over two years requiring HUD extensions, and strategic consolidation of occupied units to improve efficiency. Freeman said the authority expects to return many vacancies to service in about 45 days where feasible and is coordinating with LNI and the fire department on safety and inspection protocols. She also cited copper theft and vandalism as factors that have increased maintenance costs.
Council and staff responded by offering to receive Henson's documentation and to follow up with Licensing & Inspections and other relevant staff (the meeting named Miss Nona in LNI). The housing authority invited the public to attend its May 27 meeting at 3:30 p.m. at the Ruth L. Bennett Homes Community Center for further discussion.
