SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Off-campus concerns are ongoing for the University of Miami students who have been dealing with unsafe and unsanitary living conditions for weeks. Now, their furious families are stepping it, hoping their presence brings a solution.
Speaking with 7News on Saturday, the parents of UM students who live at The Cloisters apartment complex voiced their frustration
“Everybody here has an issue. There are some that came a very long distance because they are so worried about their child,” said concerned parent Rob Connors. “We feel like we’re not getting any answers, we’re just hearing about more problems.”
The latest issue, these parents said, is a gas leak in one of the buildings.
“We’re about day 4 now; it’s Saturday,” said one parent. “I don’t believe that the local gas companies are here. I don’t see them.”
7 Investigates has kept a close eye on the conditions at The Cloisters.
Just last month, a sewage backup pushed feces into bathtubs, overflowing the toilets and filling kitchen sinks.
“It was an overabundance of live, fresh, raw sewage coming out the very first night that these students moved in,” said one parent, “and now [my daughter’s] apartment is a construction zone with sand, dirt, the floor dug up, pipes exposed and no resolution.”
Plumbing is not the only problem. These students told 7 Investigates’ Karen Hensel that safety also has been a concern.
“We don’t have window shades, we don’t have blinds,” said a student.
“I tried to open my closet door, and it fell off on top of me,” said another student
Adding to broken promises of move-in ready apartments — fully furnished, with a fitness center and a pool
“There’s no amenities, there’s nothing, nothing, nothing that they have delivered except walls and a ceiling,” said one parent.
Students shared new pictures of the gym shared with 7News. Weights stacked on top of each other, and dust is seen surrounding the equipment.
Landmark Properties, the company that owns The Cloisters, told 7 Investigates, “The health and safety of our residents is top priority. We are addressing work orders as quickly as we are able and by level of priority.”
However, these students are still put out, and their parents are stuck paying high rent. Now they want action.
“They need to let people out of their lease, and they need to most likely knock the building down,” said one parent.
“The look of it it doesn’t match the brochure, and I think that’s pretty clear, right?” said Connors. “What we signed up for was sort of a paradise place that was really nearby, and the rent was high, and we knew that. We wanted our kids to be in a good place. What were getting is not that.”
These parents added that they will continue pressing forward, contacting local officials in hopes of some answers.
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