People shouldn’t have to fear that their building could collapse at any moment.
My cousin Darianne Diago is one of the residents at the Civic Towers in Allapattah. She recently helped to expose her building’s poor living conditions to the media.
Residents have reported mold, water damage, excessive waste, sunken floors and rusty pipelines.
Four years ago, the building was evacuated after Hurricane Irma caused damage.
All of it has left my cousin concerned because she lives there with her grandparents and they have cancer and respiratory issues.
I understand that improvements require money, but people pay rent and there should be enough money to at least start solving one issue at a time.
If by any chance there isn’t, then the management team has to find a way to make it happen. People deserve to have the assurance that they won’t die in their sleep because of a building’s structure.
Mold can cause people to have allergic reactions or even permanent pulmonary damage.
To avoid this from happening to you, make sure that any apartment you are considering moving into has passed all of its inspections and ask if there’s anything you should be concerned about.
Buildings are meant to survive for decades, but the structure of a building begins to deteriorate at least 10 years after full construction.
Because Miami is an older city, most of its buildings are also old and more prone to having issues.
But even when some residents see something in their building that seems to be off, they still fear reporting it because they think they might be evicted.
If you see something that isn’t right in your building, let someone know. File a complaint or tell management. Make sure that you’re not putting your life at stake.
