A FAMILY has claimed that their local homeowner’s association refused to help for months after noticing a foul smell in their apartment.
Sanford and Angela Smith moved into the apartment in 2021 before being evicted last year.
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And, now they have revealed that they are sleeping in their car in a supermarket parking lot, per The Colorado Sun.
The Smiths told the outlet that they started to detect an eggy-like smell - just weeks after moving into the unit situated in the Candlewyck Condominium apartment complex in Denver, Colorado.
They said that they had tried to get the problem resolved for months.
They claimed that the homeowner’s association, landlord, and property manager said different departments were responsible for solving the issue.
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The problem was investigated in March 2022 and it emerged that there was a broken plumbing vent, per a technician’s report.
Technicians found that sewer gas was coming into their property via a wall.
The report claimed that it was likely the pipe had been damaged around a year before the Smiths started renting.
Sanford said that the issue forced him to be rushed to the hospital, claiming: "The negligence and lack of care almost cost me my life."
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The homeowners association is among a raft of parties that have been accused of negligently exposing the family to sewer gas.
The U.S. Sun has approached David Hansen – the lawyer representing the homeowner’s association - Hammersmith Management, and the attorney representing the landlord for comment.
Sanford and Angela’s rent was reduced – months after the broken pipe had been found in the property.
The landlord Alan Marks agreed to cut their rent to $1,025 a month from June to November 2022, before it would increase to $1,525 per month. Marks died in July 2022.
Court docs seen by the Colorado Sun revealed that the Smith family stopped paying rent in August of that year.
They were hit with an eviction order just weeks later and had only days to scramble together their belongings, per the notice.
The Smiths claimed that the eviction was an “abuse of power.”
The family has since revealed that they are living out of their car parked in a Walmart lot.
