CINCINNATI — A Walnut Hills woman says she's been grappling with flooding, bug infestations and rotting walls in her apartment for months.
Sonia Kennedy has lived at Walnut Hills Apartments on Beecher Street for three and a half years, but despite repeated complaints, she says her property manager has not addressed her concerns.
"It's disgusting ain't it?" said Kennedy, showing us the adhesive bug strips hanging from her kitchen, hallway and bathroom. "These are gnats."
Kennedy showed us the conditions in her bathroom. The floorboards are peeling, and behind them is rotting drywall.
The visible issues in her apartment paint a grim picture. Kennedy has to dry her wet towels on the balcony due to the flooding in her bathroom.
“Some of the electrical sockets don’t work as well,” Kennedy said.
Our crews also noticed bubbling walls in the hallway and cracks between the wall and ceiling. Kennedy said bubbles on the floor are from flooding from inside the apartment. The pantries in her kitchen have little to nothing in them.
"I can't keep food in there because of the roaches and the bugs," said Kennedy, who instead stores her food in a closet.
The situation has left Kennedy feeling trapped and frustrated, which prompted her to call WCPO 9 News for help.
"It's hard, it's hard, I'm sick every day, I can barely breathe, I'm on medication since this happened," said Kennedy. "It's hard to have to walk past the rental office every day and can't say help me again help me again, I've done that enough I'm tired."
Since November 2024, Kennedy has been paying rent escrow because she's been fed up with unanswered maintenance requests.
See more about the issues Kennedy's dealt with at the apartment building:
We reached out to the owners and property management team of Walnut Hills Apartments. A lawyer representing the owners told us that by Thursday, maintenance workers would go into Kennedy's apartment to fix the problems. He didn't say when the repairs will get done, but he said the owners plan on ordering parts if that's what it takes.
City of Cincinnati records show hundreds of complaints against the apartment going back years. At the last check, there were 44 open complaints against the property for issues like unsanitary conditions, non-working appliances and plumbing issues. While Kennedy waited for those repairs, we asked her about her next steps.
"To get out, I'm packed up so I'm just trying to wait on some way to get out of here as quick as I can," said Kennedy.
