2nd Floor Residents Trapped After Apartment Complex Removes Stairs

You might have had a few disagreements with your landlord, maybe it was a noise complaint, maybe you aren’t exactly psyched that the slightest bit of rain causes the floor to flood, or maybe they’re just a bit of a dick in general.

While I’m sure your landlord might be a bit rough around the edges, I doubt they removed a pretty integral part of your home without giving you the heads up first. Which is exactly what happened to residents of Maple Walk Apartments in the States, when several people became trapped on the second floor of the apartment building after the complex removed the stairs.

Tenants at a 2nd flr Apt complex are told there will be no stairs until Thursday. Now they are stuck and unable to leave. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/F6UEPN6Vde

— Leo Chavarria (@Journalist_Tx) June 5, 2017

Obviously, stairs are fairly important to getting in and out of a lot of homes, local resident Andre Williams summed it up pretty well: “This is crazy. How can you cut off access to the stairs and everybody’s in their apartments?”

Neighbours woke to find the complex removing the stairs and absolutely and no way to get down. They also found notices on their door which said they wouldn’t be able to access the stairs until Thursday. “They gave us no notice. No nothing. They were already taking the stairs down when we got the notice this morning,” Resident Shawnta Tiller said.

Although, some residents reckon that they did receive a letter asking them to vacate. “Rent credit will be given for you to stay in a hotel tonight and rent will not be charged for the amount of days it takes to get it repaired. You can have the option of being released from your lease without any penalty,” the letter read.

Then on Monday, they woke up to a construction crew removing their only way out. Luckily, the fire department showed up and was able to get everyone out safely. Now residents are scrambling to find a new place to stay until the stairs are fixed.

Rescued! Firefighters help get residents down after apt complex removes stairs- only way to upstairs units! @wsbtv 4p pic.twitter.com/Epo84o59DN

— Sophia Choi (@SophiaWSB) June 5, 2017

As you’d expect, removing the only way in or out of a home violates some pretty serious health codes and it looks like the complex could get in a whole heap of trouble.