Couple says it could be months before they are allowed back to their apartment

By Jamie Sherrod, James Paxson

Click here for updates on this story

    SAGINAW COUNTY, Michigan (WNEM) — Dozens of local residents are looking for a new place to stay after recent storms severely damage units in one Saginaw County apartment complex.

Multiple units are undergoing what the company says is extended restoration keeping residents away from their apartments for weeks.

A unit at Township Square Apartments in Saginaw Township is one of many damaged during heavy rains this month.

“We lost power for about 20 hours and water started coming through the windows,” a couple said.

A couple, who asked not to be named, said water came in on the seventh, the 10th, and the 11th damaging the walls and carpet in all three bedrooms.

“It made a big hole in our wall decent sized hole from the drywall being so wet,” the couple said. “At this point we only had half of the living room half of the dining room area to pretty much live. Everything else wasn’t livable.”

The couple told TV5 they had no choice but to take their two children and get a hotel room, which has become costly as they wait for the complex to repair the damage.

“Our apartment was one of the few ones that needed extended restoration that was going to take a lot longer,” the couple said.

Along with about 40 other residents, the couple was given two options. Terminate their lease and move out or move out and pay rent until work was complete.

“They said it was going to take up to 10 weeks or more,” the couple said. “I got very upset of course this was very unexpected. We weren’t expecting to move.”

Frustrated residents are taking their concerns to the township. The township manager said there is not much they can do.

Township Manager James Wickman said as long as the landlord is working to correct the issue the township doesn’t get involved.

“Residents reported their concerns to us and we determined that management and tenants were working out the arrangements they had a restoration company in there doing what they could do,” Wickman said.

TV5 reached out to the owner of the complex, Village Green of Southfield, and they issued a statement:

“The property is scheduled to undergo extensive repairs due to the flooding that will require residents to relocate under their lease agreement when necessary to maintain residents’ health and safety. We have committed resources such as providing financial assistance to the impacted residents, specifically rent and utility reimbursement. We remain committed to assisting our residents and have welcomed and encouraged the impacted residents to contact our office if we can be of further assistance.”

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.