Seeing is Believing: Indescribable Living Conditions at Lakeside Pointe Apartments in Indianapolis
There are times in life when situations or experiences described to you seem either so extraordinary or far-fetched that unless you have seen it yourself, it is hard to believe that such things exist or have happened. The living conditions for residents of Lakeside Pointe apartments are just such a situation.
By Bruce Garrison, Pastor at The Dwelling Place, GIMA Member
About Lakeside Pointe Apartments
Lakeside Pointe Apartments located, in the Nora area of northern Indianapolis, at 91st Street and College Avenue, has 588 units and contains a diverse racial mix of residents, along with members of resettled communities from Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Hispanic and Latin countries. The owners ran it for nearly twenty years as a nonprofit, affordable housing complex. Conditions have deteriorated over the last decade to the point where over one hundred units are uninhabitable.
Indescribable Conditions Witnessed by Claire Holba
After witnessing the conditions in some of the apartments, , Claire Holba, Executive Director of Indianapolis-based nonprofit Patchwork Indy, , felt it necessary to take action. The key to any advocacy is building relationships. Claire, who previously worked in refugee camps in Thailand in 2018, already felt a strong affinity with the Karen ethnic community from Burma. Many Karen and Karenni families live at Lakeside Pointe. Starting in 2007 and 2008, approximately 1350 refugees settled in the Indy area, with an additional 1100 Burmese refugees resettling in 2013. Since those first Indianapolis resettlements, Claire developed relationships with families. She was invited into their homes to experience extraordinary Karen hospitality.
Leaking Sewage
Claire discovered sewage leaking into a bathtub from the apartment above. A woman from Burma lived in the unit with her elderly father and one-year-old baby. Maintenance ignored their requests for help until the Nora Neighborhood Ambassadors intervened.
Occasional Emergency Flooding Significant leaking and resultant flooding were frequent in some buildings. The maintenance emergency number did not work, so tenants would go several days with soaked carpets and foul aroma.
Standing Water
In another apartment, she found black and foul-smelling rancid water that had been gathering in the dishwasher for several weeks. The foul smell circulated throughout the unit. The family could not use their kitchen sink without it leaking into the dishwasher and all over the floor. It was impossible to drain the water. Despite numerous attempts to call maintenance, they regularly evaded responsibility for maintaining habitable living conditions. The family consisted of several young children and a newborn infant.
Black Mold
In one apartment, black mold had taken over the bathroom wall. Management did not respond until a community advocate said they would call the Health Department. Management whitewashed the issue by painting over the black mold to hide it from the Health Department.
Vacant Units
Claire discovered an open sliding back door allowing her to investigate an empty unit. She found plants growing through the carpet and mold visibly infesting the walls and carpets.
Chronic Maintenance Issues
Residents report chronic and unrelenting deficiencies due to negligence preventing safe and habitable living.
For example, reports include:
Inconsistent water temperature with either no hot water or only hot water
No heat
Unsafe security measures such as both doors and windows unlockable
Unusable toilets or tubs
Numerous electrical problems inside with appliances and within apartment units
A Timeline of Community Advocacy
For eighteen months, the community organized efforts to work with the apartment management company to change living conditions for residents. As part of this effort, residents took part in a survey. Of those questioned, 71% reported apartment conditions violated their fundamental tenant rights.
February 2021
Confronting Lakeside Pointe Apartments Owners Nonprofit Status
The complex owners have used their nonprofit status to avoid paying over half a million dollars in property taxes. The Lakeside Pointe Taskforce led a challenge to the owner's nonprofit status. Under the direction of Patchwork Indy, the task force consists of representatives from Nora Neighborhood Ambassadors, Nora Alliance, Nora Community Council, Washington Township Schools, Lakeside Pointe Residents, Faith Communities, and the Affordable Housing Industry. In February of 2021, the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals revoked the property tax exemption of the ownership, a significant step.
March 2021
Key Indianapolis Officials Become Involved
The momentum from this favorable decision led to the Lakeside Pointe Taskforce convening a meeting with some of Indianapolis's elected officials. These included Indianapolis Deputy Mayor Jeff Bennett, State Senator Fady Qaddoura, State Representative Carey Hamilton, and representatives from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Health Department, and the Attorney General's office. In March 2021, all the various agencies were working to relieve this horrific and prolonged situation.
Conditions Become Dangerous and Force Residents to Relive Trauma
The situation began to move from forcing residents to live in unacceptable conditions to a genuinely dangerous situation. In March of 2021, a fire broke out in the apartment complex. The heat was so intense that it cracked the back window of one of the units. a Burmese refugee family. They described to Claire Holba the feeling of having to pack their bags in case the fire got too close and they had to flee. This same family watched their home village burned down by the Myanmar military before they fled to make their way to a refugee camp, and and then to Indianapolis. They were reliving that trauma.
There were seven fires in the apartments that year. It's simply beyond comprehension that this happened in the middle of a city like Indianapolis.
Fire at the Complex
The complex office building burns out, leaving the tenants with no central location to contact owners and no laundry facility
July 2021
Indiana Attorney General Accepts the Case and Sues the Owners for Receivership of the Complex
The meetings continued. Sometimes as many as 35 people would be on a zoom call. COVID-19 was a hindrance, but the different agencies worked together to develop a way to stop the perpetual negligence. Finally, the state Attorney General accepted the case and sued the owners for receivership. In July of 2021, the case went to court. Everyone felt confident the judge would rule in favor of the tenants, with the appointment of a receiver to take over the management of the apartments. The landlord's mortgage lender also joined in the case, asking for a receiver to be appointed.
September 2021
Judge Decides Not to Appoint a Receiver
In September 2021, to everyone's surprised dismay, the judge did not appoint a receiver. Instead, the parties were ordered to go into mediation within 120 days. During the remaining months of 2021, the situation at the apartments continued to deteriorate. More fires occurred, there were additional major leaks that caused collapsed ceilings. A previous fire had burned out all the laundry facilities. The owners made it almost impossible to contact them or even pay rent.
January 2022
City Officials Move to Sue the Owners for Public Safety and Public Nuisance Violations
Finally, in January of 2022, Mayor Hogsett, the Marion County Health Department, and the IMPD moved to sue the owners for Public Safety and Public Nuisance violations. On January 25, the mayor held a press conference. He gave the owners seven days to make substantial improvements to the facilities or face legal action. In the meantime, the complex owners worked out a sale that appears in process. But Mayor Hogsett has clarified that the new owners face the same, existing strict guidelines and must start improvements by the end of February.
We have to ask: How could this happen in America?
What more needed to happen before laws would come into play that protects the tenants of Lakeside Pointe apartments? That's the problem. There are no laws that currently protect tenants in Indiana apartment complexes or other rental facilities. Indiana is one of only five states with no protection of tenants' rights. "Indiana law is notoriously favorable to landlords, leaving renters with few, if any, protections from predatory and negligent property owners, housing advocates and tenants say," as Ko Lyn Cheang recently reported in an article for the Indianapolis Star.
Indiana is Weak on Protecting Renters
Even though there were significant issues with the conditions at Lakeside Pointe, tenants had very little leverage in getting improvements. Unlike most other states, Indiana does not allow tenants to withhold rent until repairs are made. They must continue to pay their rent, regardless of the state of their rented unit. Other states also have protections against evictions that do not exist in Indiana. In short, to be a tenant in Indiana can often be a precarious position — especially if the landlord is a bad actor, negligent, unconcerned, or not even in the state, as was the case with Lakeside Pointe. The final solution for Lakeside Pointe remains to be seen.
Faith Communities and Nonprofits Partner for Fair Housing
The situation has spurred several faith communities and nonprofits to join together to learn what Housing Advocacy could look like and how the average citizen can get involved at a grassroots level to bring about change. Faith Church, First Baptist Church, St. Luke's Methodist, King of Glory Lutheran, and Second Presbyterian Church are joining Patchwork Indy and the Nora Neighborhood Ambassadors to convene a Housing Advocacy Education Summit.
Housing Advocacy Education summit
When: Sunday, April 24, 2022
Location: Second Presbyterian Church from 2:00-3:30 pm.
Issues being discussed and addressed include:
Tenant Rights
Evictions
Affordable Housing
Next Advocacy Steps.
The summit will be in person but will also be live-streamed. Any person interested in learning more about the situation and understanding how to make a change is invited to join us.
Fair housing is not a political issue. It is not an ideological issue. It is an issue of basic human rights. We hope that you will be inspired to get involved.
Quick Resources
Know your rights as tenants in Indiana
Did you know that all renters in the State of Indiana have rights?Indy Rent Help
Many people in Indianapolis have suffered economically due to the COVID-19 crisis. Are you having a hard time paying rent? The Indianapolis Rental Assistance Program might be able to help.Housing4Hoosiers
Housing4Hoosiers is a renter resource program created to promote educational information about tenant/landlords rights and responsibilities in Indiana.
