INDIANAPOLIS — The clock is ticking for the owners of Lakeside Pointe at Nora.
They have until Monday to address maintenance issues that have led to unhealthy and unsafe living conditions — mold, leaks, HVAC issues, fires that have displaced dozens of people — or they could face a lawsuit from the City of Indianapolis and the Marion County Public Health Department.
"Even though Indiana law requires landlords to provide safe, clean, habitable housing to their tenants, this is often not the case," Brandon Beeler, Housing Director of Indiana Legal Services, said.
He and other community advocates and leaders announced the potential lawsuit on Tuesday at the City-County Building. They're planning to use the state's public nuisance statute to file the lawsuit.
RELATED | Hogsett threatens lawsuit against owners of troubled Lakeside Pointe at Nora apartments
"We have a negligent property owner who's not doing anything in response to years of suits from the health department and most recently from the City of Indianapolis, not to mention the Attorney General's Office," said Jeff Bennett, deputy mayor of community development.
City officials hope that filing a lawsuit with the Marion County Public Health Department will increase the odds that this will lead to change.
In 2018, a court ruled that under the nuisance statute, Indianapolis could not seek reimbursement for numerous emergency service calls to another troubled apartment complex. This ruling is why the city wants clarification on the law.
"We've not filed jointly with the Marion County Health Dept a public nuisance case, so that's pushing the envelope on the interpretation of the public nuisance statute," Bennett said.
The city and health department hope their actions create change for the better. Not just for people across Marion County dealing with unsafe and unfixed apartment issues.
"(We will) use this opportunity as a test case to shine a light on what might be discrepancies or unclarity in state law. It helps us in the short term with the living conditions at Lakeside Pointe and in the long term, our ability to hold bad actors accountable all over Marion County," Bennett said.
WRTV did not receive a comment from Lakeside Pointe at Nora's owners for this story.
-
'Deeply Ingrained' Program inspires youth through woodworking and life skills
What started as a simple project for a father and his children has blossomed into "Deeply Ingrained," a program offering valuable woodworking skills and life lessons to hundreds of children.
Tips to prevent basement flooding before as more rain approaches
The next round of heavy rain is in the forecast for the weekend. It comes about two weeks after storms dumped inches of rain in Central Indiana.
The family of Adam Sykes responds to a deadly officer-involved shooting
The family of Adam Sykes is speaking up and demanding answers from IMPD after he was shot and killed by police in February.
Indiana legislative session approaches deadline with major decisions looming
So far, the governor has signed more than 100 bills into law, some of which have sparked controversy.
