Tenants Say Section 8 Apartment Complex is Sub-Standard

The KTAL Troubleshooters have recieved a number of complaints from tenants at the Woodland Terrace Apartments in Shreveport. Many of the occupied units in the complex are section 8 certified. However, these tenants say they have no idea how they passed inspection. "Living here is a nightmare, it`s infested with rats and roaches," Renata Thomas, a former resident said. Thomas lived in the Woodland Terrace Apartments for about 2 months. She is one of the renters using section 8 vouchers. Thomas and other renters called the KTAL Troubleshooters and asked us to take a look inside their apartments. We found roaches on the ceiling, on the walls and inside drawers. Tenants also complain that the laundry room is unsanitary. We found that in at least 2 units there were no smoke detectors on the walls and found a fire extinguisher that had been expired for more than a year. Thomas has been evicted,but, she worries about the tenants who are still there. "[Management] needs to spray, fix this place up and make it livable," Thomas said. We contacted the management at Woodland Terrace, however, they declined to speak on camera. A manager did say that most tenants do not have problems with rats and roaches. The KTAL Troubleshooters then contacted the Section 8 housing office in Shreveport. Maronda Markham, assistant manager of the Section 8 housing office, says tenants did not report any complaints to her office. Markham says all Section 8 apartments are inspected before tenants move in and re-certification inspections take place every 10 months. Markham also says tenants with vouchers do have a right to leave if the conditions in a complex are unacceptable. She advises prospective tenants to perform their own visual inspection before moving in. Since the Section 8 office is now aware of the complaints, Markham says inspectors will re-inspect each of the section 8 units at Woodland Terrace to ensure that proper housing standards are being maintained. The KTAL Troubleshooters will follow this situation until it is resolved.