Dilapidated Buildings In F'closure Continue Driving Tenants Into Streets; Deteoriating Conditions Force Fire Chief To Give Residents The Boot

In Swissvale, Pennsylvania, WTAE-TV Channel 4 reports:

• Residents at a Swissvale apartment building are being forced out because officials said the landlord has been ignoring citations for the past five years. "He's not doing what he's supposed to be doing," said 83-year-old tenant Sarah Kandor of her landlord, Michael Sturdivant.



• Sturdivant is facing a foreclosure lawsuit on the apartment building. He also owes more than $40,000 in back taxes.



• "We've had window sashes that have rotted to the point where windows have fallen out. We've had a ceiling collapse on a tenant in there. We had to go over and render medical aid and transfer her to the hospital for injuries from that," said Swissvale Fire Chief Clyde Wilhelm.

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• [The landlord's] tenants are asking for more time to move out but Wilhelm said he knows granting it could cost them everything. "It's getting to the point where it's not if something's going to happen, it's probably when it's going to happen -- and we don't want that to occur," Wilhelm said. [...] The Salvation Army said tenants will be able to get help with moving expenses.

For the story, see Residents Forced From Home After Landlord Ignores Citations (Swissvale Residents Looking For New Homes).

See also, State Assisting Tenants Being Forced Out Of Apartments (Officials Say Swissvale Landlord Has Ignored Citations For 5 Years).