Pierce County apartments were unsafe for years. Why did people still live there?

An eight-unit, L-shaped flat gathering successful Lakewood has been the root of interest for the city’s rental-housing programme for years. Although gathering owners of Melody Apartments haven’t made indispensable repairs and metropolis unit declared the units amerciable to occupy, a fistful of residents inactive lived there, a News Tribune probe found.

After a occurrence successful 2020 damaged fractional of the units astatine 4914 115th St. Ct., spot owners made galore repairs without obtaining indispensable permits, according to the city. That’s caused headaches not lone for the metropolis but for the low-income tenants surviving determination with leaky windows, electrical issues, plumbing issues and rotted railings.

As of Feb. 27, determination were truthful galore noncompliance issues astatine Melody Apartments the metropolis deemed the gathering “unlawful to rent” and “illegal to occupy,” according to nationalist records obtained by The News Tribune.

The spot has been nether an abatement bid since Nov. 22, 2022, which meant tenants could not inhabit the building. The bid besides called for definite parts of the spot to beryllium repaired oregon demolished by Jan. 30, 2023.

Despite those orders, arsenic of past period astatine slightest 5 units were occupied and had been for months.

Meosha Turner is simply a programme manager for House of Matthew, a imperishable supportive-housing nonprofit that helps families modulation retired of homelessness and find much stableness successful their lives. Turner told The News Tribune connected March 11 gathering proprietor Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC leased 8 units to House of Matthew successful August 2024. Turner said astatine the clip House of Matthew did not cognize the gathering had been nether an abatement bid and determination were truthful galore issues. Now low-income families who hoped to find stableness astatine Melody Apartments are being forced to determination again, she said.

Turner lived successful 1 of the units connected tract until past month. She said metropolis officials person known astir issues astatine the analyzable for years but person not held spot owners accountable for lodging violations. Turner besides alleges unit with the Rental Housing Safety Program entered residents’ units galore times without their permission, including her ain portion erstwhile she was asleep.

On Wednesday, the metropolis denied allegations that inspectors entered units without support and said the metropolis posted 48-hour notices successful beforehand of the inspections, arsenic required by law. Spokesperson Brynn Grimley said House of Matthew unit denied introduction to the metropolis 3 times successful February and March.

Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC told The News Tribune via email Thursday that House of Matthew had indicated it would surrender possession of each 8 units by April 11. A typical with the institution said tenants were not offered relocation assistance.

Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer records amusement the spot was sold connected Sept. 10, 2021 by Lakewood Community Group LLC to Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC for $1,577,662. The metropolis said the merchantability occurred aft Lakewood Community Group LLC repaired the occurrence and h2o harm “without obtaining immoderate permits oregon inspections.”

Extensive unpermitted and uninspected enactment continued for years connected the spot contempt the metropolis posting a stop-work bid connected April 7, 2022, according to nationalist records. The spot was deemed “Noncompliant” by the metropolis for the unpermitted enactment successful September 2022, according to metropolis records.

“It is the city’s knowing that the spot remained vacant from the September 2022 [Rental Housing Safety Program] posting, done the abatement process, until sometime successful December 2024,” Grimley said connected March 21. “We are unsure of [the] nonstop day arsenic this spot remains a Noncompliant Rental Property done the RHSP and the abatement bid remains successful place, making this spot uninhabitable. While we person nary documentation owed to the spot proprietor being non-compliant and unwilling to stock information, we judge the spot owner/manager Sage leased the spot to House of Matthew astir this time, which is erstwhile House of Matthew whitethorn person begun bringing successful tenants illegally.”

Representatives with House of Matthew did not respond to that allegation. Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC said via email Thursday that House of Matthew accepted the information of the spot earlier subletting to tenants and did not get a licence to legally rent the units to tenants.

In an email to spot owners and House of Matthew March 26 sent to The News Tribune by the city, metropolis lodging part manager Jeff Gumm said the House of Matthew inactive needs to get a City of Lakewood Rental Housing Safety Program concern license.

In an emailed connection to The News Tribune connected March 26, Sage Investment Group said it was committed to ensuring the information and ineligible compliance of each its properties. The institution said representatives from the House of Matthew denied introduction to a metropolis inspector astatine slightest doubly “and erstwhile leaseholders obstruct them, our squad cannot reasonably guarantee the information and compliance of our properties, which yet puts tenants astatine risk.”

“For the past respective months, we’ve worked intimately with the City of Lakewood and the nonprofit the House of Matthew to docket a indispensable inspection of The Melody … which is presently afloat leased to the House of Matthew,” Sage Investment Group said. “Yesterday, connected March 25, 2025, the City of Lakewood was capable to successfully inspect this property. We are eagerly awaiting a afloat database of repairs required and look guardant to completing them successful a timely manner. We are cooperating afloat with the City of Lakewood and privation to convey them for their enactment and concern arsenic we enactment to guarantee this spot is harmless and successful compliance. We besides admit the practice of the House of Matthew and are committed to moving with them moving guardant to bash what is champion for the tenants of The Melody.”

When asked wherefore Lakewood 17 LLC was renting units to tenants and tenants were surviving astatine Melody Apartments contempt the metropolis knowing the units were noncompliant, Grimley said: “We trust connected backstage spot owners to enactment arsenic liable owners and travel the law. When the ailment was issued, the tenants surviving successful the 2 occupied units successful the gathering were relocated, per authorities law. The question of wherefore tenants were/are allowed to unrecorded successful a gathering successful usurpation of the city’s bid should beryllium directed to the spot owner/manager. They person a work to travel the law.”

In an email Thursday, a Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC typical said successful response, “It is the work of the tenant to support the spot and to notify the owner/landlord/property manager of immoderate large issues requiring repairs oregon replacement. House of Matthew had possession of the property, consistently declined to let the proprietor and the City to participate the spot to behaviour inspections, and has present declined to let the proprietor entree to implicit the indispensable repairs.”

Turner told The News Tribune connected a circuit of the spot March 24 that tenants had submitted attraction requests that would often spell unanswered oregon ignored by the spot owner.

What does the astir caller inspection study say?

The spot was astir precocious inspected by the metropolis connected March 25. According to the inspection report, each portion failed inspection, arsenic did the shared laundry country and different areas.

City unit noted 4 units did not person functioning heaters, and astatine slightest 1 portion did not person functioning blistery water, issues that were deemed to request “immediate repair.” Three units had sinks that did not drain properly, 1 portion had an exposed ligament successful the bathroom, 1 had nary c dioxide/smoke detector, different had a missing fastener connected its model and the laundry room’s washing instrumentality was recovered not to relation properly, leaking h2o into the wall, level and neighboring apartment. Those items were considered “life-safety” repairs that needed to beryllium completed successful 10 days.

“There are inactive galore items to address, but nary emergence to the level of unsafe conditions that would necessitate closure of the building. That said, the units request to comply with our rental codification oregon the spot cannot person a certificate of compliance. Without a certificate of compliance, a rental cannot proceed to operate. The metropolis is hopeful the remaining issues volition beryllium resolved,” Grimley said via email March 27. “The proprietor started moving connected items yesterday and has expressed eagerness to implicit the work. With this spot specifically, we person had to equilibrium enforcing our laws with knowing that this spot provides indispensable affordable lodging to radical who person minimal resources to find lodging determination else. Our precedence is to marque definite tenants of this spot person harmless units that bash not airs beingness information concerns.”

In an email Thursday erstwhile asked wherefore repairs were not completed earlier, a Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC typical said, “The proprietor was not alert of the information of the spot anterior to the caller inspection connected March 25.”

As antecedently reported by The News Tribune, Kirkland-based Sage Investment Group LLC precocious purchased a fig of different buildings successful Tacoma, Fife, Olympia and Centralia. The institution bought respective hotels connected South Hosmer Street past twelvemonth to person into apartments successful summation to different hotels successful Fife and much successful Lewis County.

Public records amusement the metropolis was alert Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC continued to bash extended unpermitted and uninspected enactment astatine Melody Apartments contempt the metropolis posting a stop-work bid successful April 2022. The amerciable enactment included: replacement of fire-damaged materials, extortion replacement, siding replacement, model and doorway replacement, platform replacement and structural modification, replacement of stairs, replacement of railings and guards, drywall replacement, plumbing, mechanical and electrical modification and extended interior modification to aggregate units, according to the abatement bid issued by the metropolis successful November 2022.

In September 2022 the metropolis posted a announcement for Rental Housing Safety Program noncompliance astatine the property, barring the gathering from being legally occupied oregon rented and requiring Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC to wage tenants relocation assistance nether authorities law. According to nationalist records The News Tribune received, the spot owners paid astatine slightest $11,000 successful relocation assistance to those tenants successful October 2022.

Grimley said Melody Apartments passed each gathering and licence inspections successful July 2024, but the gathering failed a last inspection successful September 2024. Grimley said those items needed to beryllium addressed earlier the abatement bid and RHSP noncompliance posting could beryllium lifted.

‘People’s lives are hanging successful jeopardy’

Turner said the past mates of months since House of Matthew discovered the abatement bid and noncompliance posting has thrown the lives of Melody Apartments’ tenants successful disarray.

“Where’s the oversight and where’s the accountability?” Turner said. “People’s lives are hanging successful jeopardy.”

All of the tenants who lived determination are low-income and immoderate person disabilities, talk constricted English, were antecedently unhoused and faced discrimination, Turner said. House of Matthew presently has a 200-person waiting database for affordable housing, she said. Without stronger protections for tenants and stronger penalties for landlords, “It’s going to lend to much homelessness, it’s going to lend to much landlord-tenant issues,” Turner said.

In an email to The News Tribune connected Thursday, Lakewood 17 LLC/Sage Investment Group LLC blamed the concern connected House of Matthew’s refusal to cooperate with owners and the metropolis to behaviour inspections and implicit repairs.

Turner said House of Matthew has a comparatively debased complaint of radical returning backmost to homelessness aft uncovering lodging and stableness successful their program. Some tenants expected to unrecorded astatine Melody Apartments for a while, but present they person to fig retired determination other to live, she said.

“Having to woody with this takes distant our quality to actively assistance and prosecute with different people, with our lawsuit management,” Turner said. “And truthful not lone are they impacting the radical here, it’s impacting the radical who aren’t adjacent here.”