INDIANAPOLIS — Some people living in an apartment complex on Indianapolis’ north side say they haven’t had heat in a month.
In all, they’ve filed dozens of complaints with the Marion County Public Health Department.
“Whatever as cold as it is outside, you could feel it in here,” said resident Ginamarie Settles.
Settles has lived at the Ashford Meridian Hills apartments on the city’s north side for the past three years. In January, her heat went out. So, she submitted a work order on January 21, and maintenance said it was a bigger problem.
“He said that I needed a whole furnace. He said, ‘I’m going to put it in,’ and he said, ‘You will not have to go a whole week without heat.’ I said, ‘Okay, good.’ The week came, another week came,” recalled Settles.
Her paperwork documents that the work was completed by maintenance on January 26. Fast now forward to February 22, and it’s still not working despite the health department getting involved.
“The health department gave them 24 hours to get my heat fixed. If they didn’t, they had a summons for them to go to court. So still with the court summons, nothing has been done still,” said Settles.
Settles is using her oven for heat, something firefighters say you should not do. Still, Settles doesn’t feel like she has another option.
“So I just give it enough time to get a little heat in the house, and then I turn it off,” she said.
Settles is just one of 14 cases filed with the county health department this year, six of which are still open. And that’s what officials say you should do.
If you’re not getting anywhere with your landlord or complex, report it to the health department. It considers no heat an emergency problem.
“I know a lot of people don’t want to do it because they are scared they might be put out their apartments or whatever, but I’m taking this chance,” said Settles.
We did speak with the property manager at Ashford Meridian Hills, who says all work orders are being completed. She was supposed to give us a call back within 20 minutes to confirm if Settles’ heat was fixed, but we have not heard back and could not get a hold of her when we called.
Also, the Marion County Public Health Department is reaching back out to the complex about Settles’ case.
If you are experiencing a similar issue and need assistance, click here. Once you fill out the form, your complaint will go straight to the health department.
Read More: Tenants complain of no heat at north side Indianapolis apartment complex