Cedar Glen owners fined by South Bend for substandard heat, no hot water as problems continue for tenants

SOUTH BEND, Ind.— The Cedar Glen Apartment Complex in South Bend yet again finding themselves in hot water for the lack of.

Residents who reached out to ABC57 say they are still through this extreme cold zone with no hot water, and others with no heat.

The city says they provide the complex with water, but it is the responsibility of the property to make sure it is hot.

They say after calls received from residents over the holidays, the Indianapolis based property management company has been fined, after finding “critical violations”.

There have been four Rental Safety Verification Program (RSVP) inspections conducted at Cedar Glen based on complaints in December 2023 and January 2024.

Two of the four, found critical violations that must be remedied within 10 days per the RSVP ordinance, including substandard heat and no hot water.

Last winter in December 2022 and January 2023 there were additional violations related to hot water and heat that were ultimately remedied at that time.

There will be reinspection’s scheduled for two units on Friday.

The Cedar Glen property currently has a $500 unpaid RSVP fine and will incur more if the critical violations are not resolved and the non-critical violations are not resolved in 60 days of their initial citation.

Tenants say the issues are ongoing, despite efforts to repair them.

One resident broke her silence Monday, after fearing retaliation.

"Why should we have to use our hard-earned money to pay for a hotel? Or why should we have to go to somebody's house to take a shower when it’s below freezing,” said Stay Kaminski, who has lived in the complex since last Spring.

She says she has been left without hot water at least 5 times since then, including the past week as temperatures hit below freezing.

"They would fix the hot water…and the hot water would break again... fix the heat… and then it would break again... it's an ongoing issue that they can't seem to get fixed,” said Kaminski.

Wednesday afternoon, she said maintence checked in and was luckily able to get her hot water back on, but the problems have not stopped there. A broken sink has left her doing dishes in her bathtub.

"My hot water came back on today, but it had gotten fixed two weeks ago, and then I've been without it for a week, so it's probably going to break again,” Kaminski added.

Her and other residents say they are still in constant fear of the the next time the outdated system will break down in a time of need. Leaving some without heat, and others without hot water, unable to bathe, clean, or cook without having to first boil water.

"There are people that are elderly out here, disabled people, babies, school aged kids, and that’s not right especially when it's cold in the negatives out here, it is not right,” Kaminski said in a plea for help.

Barrett and Stokely declined to comment on the ongoing issues and fines.

However, ABC57 did see service crews on sight Wednesday.