Joseph Imperial is a disabled veteran who pays nearly $1,400 per month for rent at Sencit Towne House Apartments.
The federally subsidized, high-rise apartment complex on Summit Avenue in Cumru Township is designed and financed for disabled adults and those over age 62, according to its website.
What Imperial and others didn’t expect upon moving in were unpleasant conditions, compounded by an alleged cold shoulder from management.
Imperial, who spoke at a Cumru Township Commissioners meeting in late May, said residents have been faced with persistent issues ranging from mice and roach problems to faulty elevators and spotty water service.
“Sometimes you’ve got water, sometimes you don’t,” Imperial said. “They really don’t seem to want to do too much about it, other than, if you don’t like where you live, move out.”
Vermin persist in the building despite him and exterminators spraying, Imperial said.
Another resident, Luz Maria Rosenberg, said she was stuck in an elevator for over an hour.
“I felt sorry for the older people,” Rosenberg said. “I’m not a qualified nurse. If something would have happened, what would I have done?”
Imperial said tenants’ maintenance requests are placed on a waiting list that often extends out for months.
“I waited three months to get two light bulbs fixed in my bathroom,” Imperial said.
Rosenberg noted that some residents were afraid to speak out publicly against Sencit.
Sencit is one of 250 facilities totaling 30 million square feet managed by Property Management Inc., Cumberland County.
Its owner is listed as “Sencit Town House LLC,” with a secondary “care of” address listed in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to Berks County property records.
Sencit Towne House management did not respond to a request for comment.
Cumru officials have investigated Sencit and issued citations, according to Kelsey Frankowki, township solicitor.
Frankowski urged residents to contact the state Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“They have some control over Sencit,” Frankowski said. “The more of you that complain to that department, the more attention it will get.”
Tenants can also hire private counsel as a group, she said.
“You have a right to live in a place that is habitable,” Frankowski said.
She said it’s a hard spot for the township because officials could decide to placard the whole building as being condemned.
“But then where does everyone go?” Frankowski said.
Commissioner Andy Donnnell said the board is aware of the issues.
“It’s something that I find personally disgusting and intolerable,” Donnell said.
He said the board has met with state officials and is looking to intervene, but the commissioners’ power to intervene directly is limited.
“It’s more an influence campaign from our perspective of how can we get higher authorities to intervene,” Donnell said. “It’s something I don’t think anyone here finds acceptable.”
Also at the meeting, commissioners floated a rental housing ordinance that aims to codify protections for tenants.
It would require rental homes to be registered and inspected to make sure they meet basic safety standards such as having working smoke detectors, safe wiring, no leaks and proper heat.
“Some landlords this won’t impact much at all because they’re already doing the right things,” Commissioner Greg Miller said. “Others, unfortunately, are not.”
The rules would require every rental agency to provide a local contact for tenants when issues arise.
“You see that a lot with landlords that live in, like, New York City, but just buy properties here to rent and then you never see them and tenants can’t get a hold of them,” Frankowski said. “The ordinance would help prevent that.”
He said there would be a yearly fee charged to a landlord for each rental.
“Not everybody would get inspected every year, but on a prescribed time frame they would get inspected,” Miller said.
He said notice would be provided to residents whose units are up for inspection.
The goal, Miller said, is to keep properties in better shape and level the playing field for landlords.
“If you’re one of the landlords abiding by all the rules, spending money to keep your property updated, but the guy down the street is offering cheaper rent and the property is dilapidated, that’s kind of what we’re looking at,” Miller said.
He said the township has an estimated 1,200 rentals. If all were charged an annual fee of about $100 per unit, it would pay for inspectors and the infrastructure needed to establish a townshipwide rental database.
He said there is a concern that the fee could get passed along to the renters and is likely to be bled in over time.
“The difference between this and a tariff is they (renters) are actually getting something for their money,” Miller said. “At the end of the day what we’re really looking for here is to avoid the situations going on at Sencit.”
There was no vote on the rental rules at the meeting, but officials said they would move forward with drafting an ordinance.