DENVER — Monday was day seven without hot water at an apartment complex in Denver's Five Points neighborhood.
Residents at Welton Park have been using port-a-potties and mobile showers for the past week. They got cold water back over the weekend, but still no hot water. A fair housing group is now trying to make sure that tenants know their rights.
Welton Park has four floors and 195 units. Regina Jones, enforcement coordinator at Denver Metro Fair Housing Center, plans to knock on each one of them.
“Because this is important,” Jones said. “I am going door to door to let the tenants know that they have rights, that their fair housing rights have been violated, and our services are free.”
Jones said the apartment complex has violated the rights of tenants under Colorado’s Warranty of Habitability law, and she wants to take the case to federal court.
“I can't imagine being in that type of situation,” Jones said. “Not knowing what to do and not knowing the resources that are out there.”
Jones spent several hours on Sunday knocking on doors and educating tenants. She was planning to do the same thing Monday until a representative from Greystar, the company that manages the property, told her to stop knocking on doors. Jones did what he asked and began slipping documents under people’s doors to get the information out there.
“I'm making sure everybody has the info,” Jones said.
When asked Monday for an update on the situation, Welton Park shared this statement with 9NEWS:
“Unfortunately, the repairs to the broken pipe took longer than anticipated. While the water has been restored, the hot water system is requiring additional repairs. We have communicated with residents that there will be a rent concession applied to their April rent. We understand the inconvenience this has caused and while it wasn’t the ideal situation, we did bring in portable bathrooms with showers, made vacant units available, delivered drinking water and provided meals. The Denver Water Department tested the water today and communicated that the water is safe to drink.”
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