ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – After tenants have concerns over their housing placements from the St. Louis County Housing Authority, it leaves questions wondering how residents got there with taxpayer money.
The housing authority pays rent for around 7,000 units in St. Louis County. Some tenants have reached out to FOX 2 saying their unit, like one at Lucas Hunt Apartments, was not in a livable condition. One of those affected said her apartment had flooding and a collapsed ceiling, among other problems.
“When we get a call from the tenant about an issue in their unit, we go as quickly as we can out to take a look at it, assess the situation and ask the landlord to make repairs,” Shannon Koenig, executive director, said.
Last month, FOX Files Investigator Mitch McCoy reported on the violations at Lucas Hunt Apartments. Shortly after this discovery, the housing authority investigated all of the units where they were spending money.
“In a large complex like that, if we have one unit, that’s a huge violation of some kind and we have some sense that that’s happening in other buildings…we look at all of the individuals who are living in that complex and are proactive about reaching out to them and assessing their unit,” Koenig said.
Koenig noted that the housing authority does not send people to live at the complex anymore after learning about there being no property manager and the conditions of living for residents.
All properties are inspected, according to the housing authority. However, the shortage of affordable housing poses a whole other problem.
The St. Louis County Housing Authority has a budget set around $70 million, with a majority of the money going towards landlords.