INDIANAPOLIS — Attorney General Todd Rokita is acting to protect tenants and hold Indianapolis Housing Agency accountable for 'miserable living conditions' at Lugar Towers.
The downtown Indianapolis apartment houses primarily seniors and people with disabilities and is owned by IHA.
Feces on walls, urine in stairwells and safety concerns are just some of the issues WRTV previously reported on at Lugar Tower.
WRTV first spoke to the tenants inJanuary, when they called for help after nearly a month of no hot water.
In April, residents filed a lawsuit citing unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the apartment, including lack of security at night, crime, roach and bed bug infestations, trash pile-ups and doors being unlocked.
Residents told WRTV they felt IHA abandoned them.
PREVIOUS | Lugar Tower residents file lawsuit citing unsafe and unsanitary conditions (wrtv.com)
On Monday, Attorney General Rokita’s office announced that after an investigation they have filed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with the Marion County Superior Court.
The AVC requires IHA to agree to a two-year compliance period in which they must maintain a licensed broker company as property manager of the building, maintain a reasonable security presence, allow access for future inspections and submit quarterly compliance reports to the Attorney General.
The AVC also includes an agreement that IHA will follow the Indiana landlord tenant statutes and local health and housing code
“What happened at Lugar Tower Apartments was the culmination of years of neglect and mismanagement,” Attorney General Rokita said. “That should anger anyone who cares about fairness and justice. Subsidized housing does not mean substandard housing. Our office will not hesitate to hold any landlord accountable that seeks to deny tenants equal protection of our laws
According to the AG office, IHA agreed to address the issues as part of the AVC.
Rokita will be at the Statehouse on August 22 at 4:30 pm to discuss Lugar Tower.
The AVC in this case can be viewed here.
