It is very difficult to live in a home or apartment that is run by a landlord that does not care about the health and welfare of his tenants. Such is the case in Miami where the residents in several buildings run by a particular landlord claims that they are forced to live like dogs in horrible conditions. One of the tenants, Ms. Gaynisha Williams, states that “There was a water leak on the ceiling of my teenage son's bedroom. Before he went to bed, there was a big old bubble. Then when he went asleep, the whole thing fell on top of him. It dislocated his neck. He could have died."
Ms. Williams lives in one of nine apartment buildings owned by six companies, all allegedly run by Denise Vaknin. However, despite all complaints like live roaches, mold, electrical issues, water leaks, rodent problems, ceiling cave-ins, spotty repairs and dozens of pages of concerns and violations go unnoticed and addressed by those responsible for the care of the buildings and their tenants. These people should not be living in such poor conditions without any of their concerns being met; breathing in mold and mildew with infestations of roaches and rodents.
Currently the city of Miami is suing the six companies that own these buildings and we are working to have the landlords held responsible through investigation and repercussions, like Denise Vaknin who is running all of these buildings. Despite all these unresolved issues, this Ms. Vaknin continues to collect the monthly rent. As stated by one of the tenants, "They are making a living off the working poor, and this can't continue to go on. Some people are not able to make ends meet to move to another place. The tenants that helped us, that gave us information, they were kicked out. I would be ashamed. I wouldn't want anybody seeing who I am -- a slumlord."
We are seeking a full investigation of this Ms. Vaknin to determine the guilt of all these allegations, ensuring that if true, the landlord be required to comply with the health and needs of all the tenants and you can help in our efforts by signing and sharing this petition. Some of the tenants agree that “The owners should be made to live in their own apartments. They wouldn't want to live in those apartments either, because they know it is subhuman.”
Neighborhood Regulations Division of the Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources – You need to do a thorough investigation on Denise Vaknin and the six companies in charge of all these tenants that live in deplorable conditions. Crack down on these landlords, do a full investigation and ensure that they do whatever it takes to address each and every issue within any and all of those buildings! These landlords need to take full responsibility to ensure all these tenants live in healthy, safe and clean apartments.
