Living conditions are deteriorating in taxpayer-funded apartments for the poor, but landlords can still count on payments from the federal government.
An Associated Press analysis of federal data shows that inspection scores have been declining for years at apartments assigned to low-income tenants. Meanwhile, few owners face serious consequences.
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In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson shows a nonworking fire extinguisher in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Johnson said the complex management gave her the extinguisher which was supposed to be fully charged, only to have it fail during a kitchen fire. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson shows the section of drywall that maintenance workers gave her to patch a hole in her bedroom wall in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson's son, Hayden Howard, 2, steps on roaches in his mother's apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, roaches line the door jam of Destiny Johnson's apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex received at least three failing inspection scores in recent years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams demonstrates how a recently repaired window does not open easily, preventing her from using a window air conditioner to help cool her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she had complained about the central heating and another window unit not working for months, with no repairs. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams shows a piece of rotting trim from the door leading to her leaking water heater in her apartment at Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she has complained about the water heater not working for months, with no repairs from maintenance. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams points out the nonworking central heater in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she has complained about it not working for months, with no repairs. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 25, 2019 photo, dusk settles over Rosemont Tower in Baltimore. Health and safety inspectors gave the 200-unit public housing high-rise a failing score of 25 out of a possible 100 in 2017. The score improved to 71 last year, according to housing authority officials. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 26, 2019 photo, Della Thomas stands with a trash can that she says management provided to catch water dripping from her ceiling during rain storms in her Rosemont Tower apartment in Baltimore. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
This Feb. 26, 2019, photo shows Rosemont Tower in Baltimore from a resident's balcony. Health and safety inspectors gave the 200-unit public housing high-rise a failing score of 25 out of a possible 100 in 2017 and then last year a score of 71, according to the housing authority. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 22, 2019 photo, a sign alerts residents in Rosemont Tower in Baltimore that the fire sprinkler system is out of service, requiring a firefighter to stand watch around the clock. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
This Feb. 26, 2019, photo shows a sprinkler in Rosemont Tower resident Larnell Robinson's apartment in Baltimore. Signs in the building's halls alert residents that the fire sprinkler system is out of service, requiring a firefighter to stand watch around the clock. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 26, 2019 photo, Rosemont Tower resident Larnell Robinson sits next to a broken heating unit in his apartment in Baltimore. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
Most failing inspections involved urgent health or safety violations, which can range from electrical hazards to rats.
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson shows a nonworking fire extinguisher in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Johnson said the complex management gave her the extinguisher which was supposed to be fully charged, only to have it fail during a kitchen fire. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
Louisiana and Mississippi had the highest inspection failure rates for rent-subsidized private apartments since 1999. Maryland and the District of Columbia fared worst in public housing.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesman Brian Sullivan says the agency is making inspections tougher, which lowers scores. He also acknowledges that older properties do not always get the repairs they need.
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson shows the section of drywall that maintenance workers gave her to patch a hole in her bedroom wall in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Destiny Johnson's son, Hayden Howard, 2, steps on roaches in his mother's apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, roaches line the door jam of Destiny Johnson's apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. The complex received at least three failing inspection scores in recent years. Upset with conditions, Johnson moved out in late March. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams demonstrates how a recently repaired window does not open easily, preventing her from using a window air conditioner to help cool her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she had complained about the central heating and another window unit not working for months, with no repairs. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams shows a piece of rotting trim from the door leading to her leaking water heater in her apartment at Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she has complained about the water heater not working for months, with no repairs from maintenance. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Whitley Williams points out the nonworking central heater in her apartment in Cedarhurst Homes, a federally subsidized, low-income apartment complex in Natchez, Miss. Williams said she has complained about it not working for months, with no repairs. The complex failed a health and safety inspection in each of the past three years. (AP PhotoRogelio V. Solis)
In this Feb. 25, 2019 photo, dusk settles over Rosemont Tower in Baltimore. Health and safety inspectors gave the 200-unit public housing high-rise a failing score of 25 out of a possible 100 in 2017. The score improved to 71 last year, according to housing authority officials. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 26, 2019 photo, Della Thomas stands with a trash can that she says management provided to catch water dripping from her ceiling during rain storms in her Rosemont Tower apartment in Baltimore. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
This Feb. 26, 2019, photo shows Rosemont Tower in Baltimore from a resident's balcony. Health and safety inspectors gave the 200-unit public housing high-rise a failing score of 25 out of a possible 100 in 2017 and then last year a score of 71, according to the housing authority. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 22, 2019 photo, a sign alerts residents in Rosemont Tower in Baltimore that the fire sprinkler system is out of service, requiring a firefighter to stand watch around the clock. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
This Feb. 26, 2019, photo shows a sprinkler in Rosemont Tower resident Larnell Robinson's apartment in Baltimore. Signs in the building's halls alert residents that the fire sprinkler system is out of service, requiring a firefighter to stand watch around the clock. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
In this Feb. 26, 2019 photo, Rosemont Tower resident Larnell Robinson sits next to a broken heating unit in his apartment in Baltimore. Largely due to complexes such as Rosemont Tower, since 2013 Maryland had the country's highest inspection failure rate for public housing at 32%. (AP PhotoPatrick Semansky)
