ORLANDO, Fla. – The daughter of a 75-year-old woman living at an Orlando senior apartment complex turned to the News 6 Neighborhood Network after she says her mother went three weeks without working central air conditioning.
The woman lives at Sandpiper Glen, a 62-and-older apartment community on Donnybrook Drive.
Her daughter, who asked News 6 not to identify her, said her mother first reported the problem on Aug. 20.
“She’s like, ‘Hey, the AC is not working. I have it at 76, it’s 82 already,’” the daughter said.
She said a maintenance worker who came to the apartment told her that her mother was the seventh resident on a list of people dealing with AC problems.
News 6 has not independently confirmed how many apartments are affected. However, reporter Alex Cook saw other window and portable AC units around the building, and one man who spoke with News 6 off camera said neighbors were also dealing with AC problems.
Messages provided to News 6 show Sandpiper Glen told the family the apartment’s blower motor needed to be replaced.
An Aug. 21 maintenance update said the work order was “awaiting parts.” In a later email, management said the replacement motor had been ordered but that the part was taking “an unusually long time to arrive.”
In the meantime, management provided the woman with a portable air conditioner.
Her daughter said that unit initially leaked water, forcing her mother to repeatedly use towels around it. She said maintenance later repaired the leak, but another problem developed with the way the unit was sealed in the window.
When News 6 visited the apartment Thursday afternoon, the portable unit was not running and the thermostat showed 85 degrees.
The daughter said her mother now spends much of the daytime away from her apartment, visiting family or going to church to escape the heat.
“She just said, ‘I just leave my apartment during the day and be at some other people’s houses and at church and have AC there,’” she said.
She said when her mother does return home, she sleeps on a pullout couch near the portable unit instead of in her bedroom.
Orange County told News 6 it currently has no open Code Compliance cases at Sandpiper Glen.
However, the county said portable air conditioners can be used as a temporary measure for comfort while repairs are underway. It also said an inoperable central air-conditioning system is considered a violation under the International Property Maintenance Code.
News 6 reached out to Sandpiper Glen and its management company asking how many apartments are affected, when repairs are expected to be completed and whether residents are being offered any other assistance.
The daughter said she is not asking for much.
“I just want them to tell me, like, a day that it’s fixed so we can know,” she said. “Because it’s been a long time.”
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