RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The City of Richmond has now deemed a building on Richmond’s northside safe after years of complaints from residents.
8News spoke with residents at the Red Oak Apartments on Chamberlayne in December who say they dealt with years of neglect from management and a host of issues including crumbling bricks, broken locks and black mold.
On May 2, 2023, city inspectors visited the apartments and gave the complex three violations, which included structural issues.
The city notified the complex that they had until June 2, 2023 to fix the needed repairs. Failure to do so would result in fines up to $2,500 per violation. The Richmond Department of Planning and Development Review tells 8News the property manager did not have these concerns resolved by that deadline and requested additional time for compliance.
A new deadline was then set for June 9, 2023. The city says the complex was able to complete all of the necessary repairs and Red Oak is no longer in violation.
This notice served as a sign of hope for Travis Fairman with the Richmond Tenants Defense Council, who wants to keep Red Oak management and other Richmond landlords accountable.
“These are real issues that are affecting real families right here, and it’s affecting people’s health and livelihoods,” Fairman said.
Fairman spoke with residents who expressed additional concerns centered around security and communication between residents and management. He also said not all residents have been able to see changes to the complex for themselves.
“We need to be consistent in terms of keeping that tension alive because how the system is structured, how Virginia law is structured, it much more favors the side of the landlord than the actual tenants themselves,” Fairman said.
The Richmond Tenants Defense Council issued the following statement regarding Red Oak Apartments:
“We call for fellow workers and members of the community to show their support at the Chamberlayne Tenants Council meetings: neighbors, clergymen, union members, anyone that believes in the people’s right to living with dignity.”
Richmond Tenants Defense Council
For more information on the Richmond Tenants Defense Council, including meeting dates, reach out at Richmondtenantsdc@gmail.com or through Instagram and Twitter.
