MILWAUKEE COUNTY — Maggots falling from the ceiling and crawling through the walls. It's a story TMJ4 first told you about on one Milwaukee woman on Tuesday.
She took matters into her own hands after she said her landlord, Berrada Properties, failed to clean up the maggots immediately. We talk to a legal expert about your rights when it comes to infestations in rented units.
"Didn't nobody care until you interviewed me," Sherlonda Carter said.
Last week, Carter's apartment had maggots in her bathtub, on the sink, on the floor, and seemingly coming out of the walls.
"I'm more than frustrated. It's disgusting," Carter recalled.
On Friday, Carter said she borrowed money from a friend to hire an exterminator to get rid of the maggots after her landlord, Berrada Properties, failed to send someone out.
"Until you went up there and talked to Berrada, they didn't care. My case worker from Section 8 didn't care on Friday, but when you called Section 8, now she's sorry," Carter said.
Berrada finally sent an exterminator Tuesday afternoon after TMJ4 called, emailed, and even showed up at their office.
We also learned the city's Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) came to inspect Carter's unit on Wednesday. A DNS spokesperson told us in an email that Carter wasn't home to give them access to her apartment.
"So no one, on Wednesday, told you that DNS was going to be coming here to look at your apartment?" Jenna Rae asked.
"No, no. Nothing," Carter responded.
We went to the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee with questions about state and local landlord-tenant laws.
"I've been representing tenants for 10-15 years now, and I don't get surprised very often anymore. That's a lot of maggots, and I would be very concerned where they're coming from and why they're there," Nick Toman said.
Toman's a managing attorney for the housing team at Legal Aid.
He said the city's building code requires landlords to exterminate an infestation in a reasonable period of time.
"If there are maggots falling from the ceiling, I think they have to get someone out there as close to immediate as possible," Toman explained.
Toman said Berrada is also responsible, under state law, to maintain a "habitable property."
"No matter who caused the infestation, the landlord has to fix it to maintain a habitable property," Toman said.
In a statement sent to TMJ4, Berrada Properties said they have no record of Ms. Carter attempting to contact them. They also said the company is reviewing her request for reimbursement of costs paid for cleaning services.
"I would like to move, and I would not like to live in any of his apartments," Carter said.
After our story aired Tuesday, several Berrada Properties tenants reached out to us with complaints similar to Carter's. We're currently reviewing those and plan to follow up.
In addition, Berrada Properties and its owner Youssef "Joe" Berrada, are currently being sued by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, whose office filed suit in 2021, said Berrada allegedly violated several Wisconsin landlord-tenant laws. Through the lawsuit, Kaul said the DOJ is seeking to stop the alleged illegal activity, provide restitution for tenants and impose civil penalties.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
