MEMPHIS, Tenn — One woman from Northeast Memphis said she has had to live with the smell of raw sewage in the front yard of her apartment.
“I have had to go to bed smelling poop [and] wake up smelling poop,” said Shirley Banks.
Banks said she's lived with this problem off and on during the last two years since moving in to Tanglewood Apartments.
Since moving in, Banks said her building’s sewer pipes have been clogged four times. She said that while the property manager does send someone to unclog the pipes, the last few times, they have left a mess.
“I went up and asked them, ‘Aren't you going to get this poop up? I said you can't leave raw sewage outside of my unit. It smells,’” Banks said.
The smell was gone when ABC24 arrived at her home, but the debris and the open pipe were on full display.
“The guy over at the maintenance department told me that if they covered that hole, then if there was a blockage, it would backup in the house,” she said.
Banks said she has made multiple maintenance requests both online and in person.
“I was just up to the office Monday, and I mentioned the poop out here,” she said. “And I was told that they would put lime on it because that kills the bacteria. Well, that hasn't given me any results.”
Memphis attorney Michael Working said that maintaining sewage falls under the health and safety standards for which a landlord is responsible.
“Probably any judge who saw repeated open sewage violations would find that the landlord has breached the lease,” Working said.
He said the first step for Banks should be hiring an attorney and putting her demands in writing.
“They’re not going to get this up unless they’re made to do it,” Banks said.
ABC24 has contacted Memphis Code Enforcement, asking them to visit Banks property at Tanglewood Apartments.
ABC24 has also reached out to owner Brookside Properties for a response but has yet to hear back.