GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) -- Block 43 apartments in Greensboro say all heating problems will be solved by Tuesday after some students said they had been without heat for weeks at a time this winter.
On Monday, Block 43 said in a statement that "all units have adequate heat," but some of those units are still using space heaters. The complex plans for the remaining heating units to be operational by the end of Tuesday.
The full statement is included below:
Block 43 made good strides in solving the heating issues. The unit the media was initially contacted about is repaired and functioning properly. At this time all units have adequate heat, be it a full repair or UL listed, safety rated space heaters. The most common issue we have found is that new thermostats a vendor installed last fall were either not properly installed or not properly programmed, or both, for the heat function. This obviously did not arise as a problem until the weather turned colder. The majority of these issues will be solved, with the heating units operational, by the end of the day, with the remainder being completed by Tuesday.
Out of 31 units, 15 of them had been repaired when Troy Powell, Greensboro's community improvement division manager of code compliance, spoke with management on Monday.
"We're waiting on verification and want unit numbers," Powell said. "We want to verify."
According to Powell, a student reported to the city on Thursday that she did not have heat in her apartment. The student said the complex sent maintenance to fix the issue multiple times, but when the maintenance workers would leave, the heat would stop working.
An inspector issued a 48-hour notice to get the heating fixed in the unit or receive a civil penalty. The unit was fixed on Saturday.
Many students stayed with friends or family while waiting for the issue to be resolved.
"That's our biggest concern in housing, to have a safe and warm place to stay," Powell said. "We're supposed to get this updated list to see which apartments need to be repaired, and we're going to go to those apartments to make sure they have a nice place to stay."
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Powell said he told Block 43 management that the complex would need to relocate tenants to working apartments or put them in a hotel if a space heater would be necessary for more than three days. Block 43 reportedly told the city that this was the complex's current policy.
The City of Greensboro encourages anyone who does not have heat to contact the code compliance office at 373-CITY or 373-2111.
"That is a major violation of the Greensboro housing code, and it should be taken seriously, and we will take it seriously," Powell said.
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