Tenants left without hot water for 22 days at Visalia apartment complex

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- For over three weeks, tenants say dozens of apartment units at Buena Fortuna Village in Visalia were without hot water.

As of Wednesday, the property manager says its back on.

But since November 28, people living here have been unable to shower.

An emotional tenant, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation says she just had surgery and had nowhere to go.

"My granddaughter had perfect attendance. She had to miss two days because we couldn't go anywhere to take a hot shower. And it hurt her and me, too," explained the tenant.

Distressed and upset, tenant Taylor Smith consulted with an attorney, who said she could legally withhold her rent, so she did.

Now, she is dealing with an eviction notice.

"We work 50 hours a week, we're working hard, we pay our bills, never been late of a bill, so it just really sucks to get labeled as someone who is not paying, getting eviction notices served, it's really gut-wrenching, it's really gut-wrenching, it's really putting a damper on the holidays this year," she said.

Freezing water in cold temperatures during the middle of December isn't the only issue.

Multiple tenants tell Action News their apartments are usually infested with roaches.

"They are actually coming out of the faucets themselves. My daughter is six years old, and she actually contracted H pylori from the water itself," explains Taylor.

Another long-time tenant who also wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

"The sewer thing gets backed up, People's bathtubs get full with poop, all kinds of stuff. I mean, they come up out of the ground. It's disgusting," said the tenant.

On top of tap issues, increasing rent fees are nearly unmanageable for tenants on a fixed income.

"I've only been living here for three months, and my rent is getting raised, and they are gonna raise it again in another three months in May," said the anonymous grandmother.

Meanwhile, tenants just want their questions answered and may decide to take legal action together.

Action News is waiting to hear back from the City of Visalia's Code Enforcement department.

The property manager we spoke with couldn't comment on many of our questions.

A longtime tenant tells us the new owners, DAAS GROUP, LLC of California, took over within the last five years.

They tell us the owner is Amarpal Narang, who also runs Sunaina Properties.

His company owns another nearby apartment complex called Giant Sequoia Village.

We did reach out to him and one other manager, and Action News has yet to hear back.

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