ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – Lee Johnson owns a home in the 3800 block of California Avenue. Today he spoke out and provided a video to respond to his tenant’s accusations that he was a bad landlord.
First, he said that the house passed a city inspection two years ago.
“They handed over the house empty and 100 percent ready to move into before this person moved in,” he said.
Asalee Hickmon has lived in the house for two years and contacted First Alert 4 because she said her landlord had failed to make necessary repairs, making the house nearly uninhabitable.
“I have contacted Mr Johnson too many times,” she said.
Johnson provided a video he took during a walkthrough on the day Hickman moved in. The video shows him walking through the house, pointing out specific features and explaining Hickman’s responsibilities as a tenant.
“Let’s go through here. As you can see, we have new blinds everywhere,” he said in the video.
Johnson points out that most of the new mini blinds he installed are damaged or broken. The video shows that the storm doors at two entrances were intact, but currently both are severely damaged.
One of Hickmon’s complaints is that the air conditioning didn’t work, but Johnson said he spent over $7,000 installing a new central heating and air conditioning system before they moved in. He claimed she never changed the air conditioning filter, and he provided a photo showing a floor vent filled with trash and debris.
The St. Louis Public Safety Department was notified of the allegations and, according to Building Commissioner Ed Ware, a comprehensive inspection of the property took place Thursday and found several violations. However, Ware did not specify which violations were systematic or which may have been caused by the tenant.
The video provided by Johnson is over nine minutes long and shows that the exterior and interior condition of the house is significantly different from its current state.
“When somebody moves in, the city of St. Louis does that. They come and inspect all these things so that before you let somebody move in, before they give you that piece of paper, you know, move-in ready, they inspect all these things. Whatever went wrong in that house, they took care of it,” Johnson said.
Hickmon denies her landlord’s allegations and accuses him of lying.
Those who work with landlords and tenants recommend referring disputes to dispute resolution centers for mediation.
A bill introduced by Councilwoman Daniela Velazquez of St. Louis and passed by the City Council puts a charter amendment to the ballot that would remove the $500 cap on fines for code violations.
Building Inspector Ed Ware also made this statement.
“The City of St. Louis Department of Buildings is making great efforts to improve the condition of its residential neighborhoods. Good property condition is beneficial to all residents and owners. As part of this effort, we will continue to monitor the situation and provide owners with all necessary instructions to ensure the property complies with all relevant codes and regulations.”
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