Renter says apartment management ignores termite problem

DYERSBURG, Tenn. — A termite infestation inside an apartment bedroom has the tenant fed up. After a month of trying to get apartment management to address the problem, she has reached out to WBBJ for help.

In early February, tenant Rhonda Broussard reached out to her apartment management when she noticed insect larva in her bedroom window. On Valentine’s Day morning, she woke up to a nightmare.

“I woke up — the termites woke me up, actually, because they were flying around me in there. I was like ‘what’s in my bed,’ and I jumped up,”  Broussard said.

Hundreds of termites are visible all over Rhonda’s bedroom window seal and along the floorboards. On the 14th, Rhonda says the property manager and the maintenance man did come see the termites, but a month later she says nothing has been done. Both she and her family are upset.

“Management basically said, well, can’t do anything because I don’t have any petty cash,” Dellana Broussard, the tenant’s sister, said. “But she fails to realize this isn’t a petty problem. It’s a serious problem.”

A WBBJ reporter attempted to talk to management, but no one answered the door and calls have not been returned. Although Rhonda has lived in Peach Tree Park Apartments for eight years, the management’s slow response to her termite problem has her ready to move.

“Hopefully I can try to go somewhere else, because this is not it,” Rhonda said.

Rhonda has been forced out of her bedroom but is concerned her wood furniture may also have been affected. She says management has not discussed relocation or compensation.

“We just need to get this problem resolved,” Dellana said. “Not just for us. She’s not the only person living here. No one should ever have to live like that.”

Rhonda and her family have consulted legal counsel to see what else can be done. If we get a response from the Peach Tree Park Apartments management we will update the story.