San Jose

Inspectors Return to San Jose Apartments Plagued with Bed Bugs, Mold

The visit comes after several tenants at Sunny Apartments along Story Road say the problems still exist, despite the city's prior inspections.

After months of complaints, San Jose code inspectors on Monday returned to a troubled apartment complex.

The visit comes after several tenants at Sunny Apartments along Story Road say the problem with bed bugs and mold still exist, despite the city's prior inspections. It is the same area where two children had to jump from a second story after an electrical fire ripped through their unit.

Code enforcement gave the apartments at 1991 Story Road the all-clear last year, saying all issues were resolved. But the tenants say all is not clear, and they invited NBC Bay Area into the complex to prove it. The department didn't receive formal complaints from the tenants until last week.

"The water doesn't come out and when it does, sometimes it turns yellow," tenant Melanie Gutierrez said. "It makes me feel disgusting."

After a fire last June, inspectors discovered a myriad of code violations. Kitchens were remodeled, but tenants say bed bugs still exist.

Kids who live in the complex claim they often wake up with rashes because of the bed bugs.

And Veronica Martinez says as much as she wipes her walls with Clorox, the mold always reappears.

Martinez says there is a fear that comes with complaining, but the family believes they have no choice.

In May, tenants also filed a lawsuit against the property owner, claiming among other things, negligence.

The property owner's son was on the property when inspectors arrived on Monday, and did not want to comment.

"There's a lot of money being made in Silicon Valley renting properties, renting apartments, and I hope they balance that with providing a quality place to live for families," Councilman Ash Kalra said.

Kalra is a candidate for state assembly and has been working with housing advocates. He says code enforcement will hire more inspectors to get to more complaints in San Jose.

Inspectors say they'll report their findings and then determine if the owner needs to make more repairs.

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