OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Dozens of renters at Manchester on May apartment complex in Oklahoma City said they still do not have air conditioning, after nearly two months without.
One renter claimed he’s purchased more than $1,000 in A/C units to put inside his apartment.
“I can only use two at a time because I blow the breaker,” said one tenant.
Another claimed her flooring inside her apartment has buckled due to the heat.
“I’m running out of, you know, funds to buy stuff for my house to try to keep me cool.”
Another woman, who claimed she suffered a heat stroke from living in the hot conditions, said she came home from a week in the hospital and found out she was issued an eviction notice.
She was one of at least five people handed the notice this week.
“They haven’t even told me anything,” said Jaime Wilburn, who is facing eviction.
She said the notice, which her sister discovered on the front door of her first apartment, said Wilburn owed more than $1,000 but she showed KFOR receipts that she was up to date on her rent.
Wilburn does not even live in the unit where the eviction notice was issued. She was moved from the first unit when the A/C went out into a second apartment, which cost $139 less. The former property manager told KFOR she reached a verbal agreement with the owner to move Wilburn into the unit, with better living conditions.
“They did approve me to relocate her to another unit downstairs,” said Ashley Olguine, former property manager with Avenue Property.
Olguine said the agreement was for the lower rent price, since the unit Wilburn was moved to was accepted “as is” and not an updated model.
Wilburn said she still can’t understand why she was given an eviction notice on the wrong apartment unit.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong,” said Wilburn.
She has been one of many people complaining about the hot conditions at the complex. KFOR has learned 50 of the 100 units on the property are without air conditioning.
News 4 received an email sent by the regional property manager that stated the property management team met with OG&E’s engineer last week.
The email read:
“Unfortunately the damage that was done was underground throughout the entire property and we have to go the direction that is most suitable for the property. Our next step is to wait on the OG&E’s contracting department to start the work. I do not have a time frame on that at this moment.”
KFOR reached out to the office manager and the property management team but was unable to contact anyone with Avenue Property.
Wilburn’s sister, Jessica Hoover, has lived a few doors down from Wilburn since she moved in. She said her apartment felt like a sauna constantly.
“I can’t control the air conditioner even when it’s working. They have control of it,” said Hoover. “And when I turn it on it only blows hot air.”
Hoover said she feared retaliation for speaking out against the problem. But she desperately wants a safer living environment.
She also said there was a petition for a class action lawsuit circulating around the complex.