Community speaks out about concerns in Craven Terrace apartments

NEW BERN, N.C. (WITN) - Community members in one city in the East are speaking out on behalf of current tenants at an apartment complex who say they are experiencing unfit living conditions, and are having a hard time getting problems fixed.

Tenants of Craven Terrace apartments in New Bern, owned by Preservation Management based in South Portland Maine, say they have been ignored by property management after several calls for maintenance to address issues ranging from black mold inside the units, and caving roofs.

Preservation Management says it was not told about the issues within some of the units and says these are issues that are required to be fixed by the company.

In a statement, the company said in part, “Residents may report maintenance issues to Craven Terrace either online, by phone, or in person[…]Some complaints outlined in this news story have not been reported to Craven Terrace. Other complaints have been addressed by Craven Terrace and, where ongoing repair is needed, residents are offered different apartments.”

WITN reached out to officials with the city of New Bern’s code enforcement department for any code violations that were reported. Because Craven Terrace is a privately owned property, the city does not perform inspections annually at Craven Terrace, but only upon request by a tenant. They say the units we were shown were not listed.

Former tenants are working with those still there and are encouraging them to continue to use their voices.

“My message to them is don’t be quiet. Don’t sit down and not say something. The law is on your side. You sign a contract with them. They have to provide you with fair living conditions, and then in return, you have to pay your rent. So if you’re not getting those needs met, make those demands for them to fix those problems. And if they don’t, then seek legal advice,” said former tenant Dinah Foskey.

Current tenants said they did not want to be on camera for fear of retaliation, but insisted they’ve made several attempts to get these issues fixed through the office staff on site.

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