New York state, by many accounts, is facing a housing crisis. Hopeful tenants are being confronted with not only limited availability, but limited affordability, leaving renters with options that may not be up to par. Now, a Central New York program meant to help address that issue is setting an example for other urban areas.
Nob Hill, an affordable apartment complex in Syracuse, looks promising on the outside, but is riddled with code violations on the inside.
“You see the water damage in the ceiling from the second floor laundry room,” said Tieasha Muhammed, a resident at Nob Hill. “There’s been multiple floods.”
Muhammed moved in last summer, and it only took a few days before she started to question that decision. In her first week, she said she got stuck in an elevator, had a door come off the hinges, and was even missing a countertop.
Now, almost a year later, she said her apartment is still not up to code, with ill-fitting doors and windows, she’s not only letting in water, but letting out the heat she pays for.
“Code enforcement said because the seal is broken so it’s not keeping the cold air out,” Muhammed explained.
The entire building was deemed unfit for human habitation after losing access to hot water at the end of March. Muhammed says, almost two weeks later, the water only gets close to lukewarm.
“One or two days maybe, 72 hours at most, but almost two weeks is unacceptable,” Muhammed said, expressing her frustrations with how the issue is being handled.
She said she wishes she knew about all these code violations before moving in — perhaps it would have influenced her decision to sign a lease.
That’s why the city developed the “Look Before You Rent” tool, to help people avoid similar situations.
“We know that people oftentimes will, because, availability is constrained, will end up renting a place and only finding out after the fact that it has a lot of issues and that the property and or the property owner are not in good standing with the city,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh.
It’s simple: you plug in an address and it brings up the property’s history, helping renters to make an informed decision on whether or not to sign a lease.
“There really isn't anything more important than making sure that you and your family have a safe, affordable place to live,” said Mayor Walsh. “And again, this is another tool to help make sure that happens more often here in the city.”
While this is a great tool to help those looking for a place to live, Muhammed worries there’s not enough being done to help those who are dealing with those issues now.
“My livelihood has been interrupted of enjoying my space were where I live,” said Muhammed, “The anxiety…are they going to fix this? Am I going to have to move? Where I'm going to move to, paying an application fee after application fee? I cannot afford that.”
The city of Syracuse has also gotten some backlash on social media for this decision, with folks saying the city should try to fix the underlying issues by doing something about rent control, Good Cause eviction, and limiting slumlords.
Spectrum News 1 has reached out to Nob Hill ownership, which is based out of Texas, and has not been able to connect.