MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Heat waves can be difficult to deal with, especially if you don't have a working air conditioner.
That was the case for one man at Ashton Hills Apartments in Raleigh.
Faustin Henderson said his AC had been broken for more than a week and management did not fix it until mandated by an inspector from the city of Memphis.
The inspector told the apartment's managers they have 48 hours to fix the air conditioning.
The temperature in Henderson's apartment hit the upper 80s, which he said is unbearable.
"It don't (sic) make sense for anybody to go through this. People pay their rent here. Nobody wants to live in these kind of conditions."
Henderson said his air conditioning is now fixed, but that's only part of a bigger problem.
The apartment complex, which has dozens of units, does not have enough maintenance workers on staff due to worker shortages across the region. Managers at Ashton Hills said they have to contract maintenance work to outside businesses. Even their plumbing tickets have doubled.
They said many vendor workers have come down with COVID, gotten behind on work, or simply don't show.
Ashton Hills Apartments management said they are actively looking and trying to hire more maintenance workers.