Washington, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) is investigating the abuse of renters by landlords in Georgia —including two complexes in Clayton County.
Ossoff, Chairman of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, is launching a second inquiry with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide information on alleged mistreatment of renters by landlords in Georgia specifically.
Two local complexes Ossoff mentions in his inquiry are Keystone Apartments, at 145 S. McDonough St., Jonesboro, and Southwood Apartments, at 6001 Trammell Road, Morrow,.
Ossoff is demanding answers from HUD on how it currently enforces standards against landlords who fail to maintain safe and sanitary living conditions.
In his recent inquiry, Ossoff cited reports of mold, infestations, and delayed repairs along with health and safety concerns in certain Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) properties, threatening the health and safety of families.
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including . . . housing’,” Ossoff wrote. “Reports raise serious concerns that some PBRA-funded property owners, which receive millions in taxpayer dollars every year, have neglected maintenance, property rehabilitation, and security. Their actions call into question HUD’s abilities to protect tenants and to hold owners accountable.”
For example, Georgians living in Forest Cove in Atlanta, owned by Millennia, endured such deplorable conditions and violence that the property was condemned, and tenants were relocated by the City of Atlanta.
Multiple investigations by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and news outlets across Georgia have documented widespread dangerous housing conditions — including mold, mice, and…
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