Ossoff probe brings hope for changes at troubled Augusta apartments

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sen. Jon Ossoff is launching an investigation into Georgia’s dangerous rental conditions in public housing, and it could brings some answers for some complexes in Augusta that have drawn fire.

Ossoff’s focus is Project-Based Rental Assistance, a program that allows people to pay rent based on their income.

“Reports raise serious concerns that some PBRA-funded property owners, which receive millions in taxpayer dollars every year, have neglected maintenance, property rehabilitation, and security,” said Ossoff. “Their actions call into question HUD’s abilities to protect tenants and to hold owners accountable.”

Of particular concern in Augusta is the Bon Air Apartments, a building that opened on Walton Way in 1924 as a grand hotel but now houses low-income and senior apartments.

Residents have complained about conditions.

Their complaints have gotten the attention of U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, who’s been holding the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s feet to the fire.

And now with Ossoff’s probe, another lawmaker is joining the fight.

BON AIR PROBLEMS:

Another source of complaints in Augusta is the downtown midrise apartment building known as the Richmond Summit.

Residents have complained about everything from rats to people urinating in the elevator at the Section 8 complex.

It all came to a head when 13-year-old Buddy Brown was shot dead earlier this year after he went downstairs from his family’s apartment to pick up a meal delivery.

While Ossoff’s investigation will enlist the help of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, some Georgia housing advocates put just as much blame on that department as they do on landlords responsible for units with black mold, sewage leaks and unclean air quality.

“HUD simply doesn’t enforce their own rules and that is egregious,” said Tim Franzen with the Housing Justice League. “HUD is deeply implicated in the failure of our community to provide safe and affordable housing to folks that truly need it.”

Franzen said HUD has a good set of guidelines that would make for safe and reliable public housing — if the agency followed them. But instead, he says they ignore tenant complaints and fail to hold landlords accountable for failing inspections.

“When landlords know that they can not follow rules and get away with it, some of them are going to take advantage of that,” he said.

“It’s a bold statement, but I think it needs to be said that HUD does have blood on their hands,” said Franzen. “To put (renters) in an environment where they don’t have clean air in the house, or they have toxic mold, or they have gas leaks, and when they report these things, they’re not being taken care of, and when HUD gets involved, HUD is not taking the action that they should be.”

Franzen also put pressure on state lawmakers who tried but failed to pass legislation last year that would have provided more power to renters.

“Year after year, the Gold Dome has not made working people a priority and this is the consequence of that,” he said. “The priority is making sure that landlords are okay, that they’re getting their checks regardless of whether they’re doing their jobs or not.”

One thing we do know: Ossoff has a history of getting to the bottom of housing problems here in the CSRA.

After at least a decade of problems like mold and leaks at privatized family housing at Fort Gordon, Ossoff launched an eight-month investigation demanding answers from contractor Balfour Beatty as well as the Army.

After getting reassurances of changes, an effort was launched to inspect all the privatized housing on post.

FORT GORDON HOUSING WOES:

WANF’s Doug Reardon contributed to this report.

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