Residents facing eviction to stay in units after Delco apartment complex deemed ‘unfit for human habitation’

GLENOLDEN, Pa. - Nearly 100 residents of a Delaware County apartment complex will stay in their apartments after they were set to be evicted Monday afternoon.

Fire and safety issues forced Glenolden officials to take action at the Glen Manor Apartments last week when about half of the 180 units were deemed "Unfit for Human Habitation."

Bright orange warnings were posted at every entrance of each building of the complex. 

The violations ranged from no emergency lighting, non-working smoke detectors, out of code or outdated fire extinguishers, according to Borough officials.

"We receive 25 to 30 complaints this year alone from residents" said Glenolden Borough Manager Brian Razzi. 

On Monday, FOX 29 was on the property where repair crews were seen coming in and out of the complex. 

Razzi says by late Monday afternoon "most of the fire safety" issues were being addressed and informed residents they would not be evicted. However, the property still faces code issues.

"They need to obtain rental licenses for each of the units, which would mean they would have to pass a second inspection. Most of the units failed the first inspection, and they have to comply with all the property maintenance codes of the borough" said Razzi.

Augustine Kamara pays about $1,000 a month in rent and says there has been nothing but problems ever since he moved in.

"I felt disappointed because we are paying all this money to get a good quality living space, and we are not getting it.  It’s quite a bit frustrating" said Kamara.

A man who said he works for the property manager told FOX 29 that workers spent all day fixing most of the fire safety issues. 

"All the emergency and exit lighting is up-to-date, the fire extinguishers are up-to-date. So from a fire safety perspective, which from what I understand, is the driving issues behind this whole thing has been addressed" he added.

Although residents can stay for now, the Borough officials say there are other issues the property owner must address like leaky roofs, broken faucets and electrical switches. Those issues will need to be fixed in the next 30 days to avoid more violations.

"The Borough wants to keep the residents in their apartments, but we want to make sure they are safe. The primary objective is that everyone is safe and secure. God forbid there is a fire or emergency they can’t get out of the building safely"

An email from the Silverman Group sent to FOX 29's Chris O'Connell stated "all time sensitive violations were quickly solved by Monday.":

As a national company with thousands of residential units, we rely on our on-site team and a network of local companies to handle maintenance and compliance issues, including code enforcement inspections and fire protection compliance. On Friday afternoon we were first alerted to the violations by notices posted on the doors of the buildings.  Critical issues were primarily inspections and recharging of extinguishers, replacing batteries in smoke detectors, and emergency lighting/signage.  We stepped in and all time sensitive violations were quickly resolved by Monday.

In order to better serve our tenants, we have set up an email address specifically for the residents of the Glen Manor complex to alert us directly of maintenance, repair, and quality of life issues, while we vet and contract with a new local team. questions@glenmanorapartments.com