INDIANAPOLIS — The owners of a northeast Indianapolis apartment complex are being sued by the state after more than 80 reports of health violations in 2024 alone.
A look through Marion County Health Department records finds repeated reports of problems like "raw sewage coming up through the kitchen sink" at Hubbard Gardens in the Meadows neighborhood, north of 38th Street between Keystone Avenue and Sherman Drive.
“Hardworking Hoosiers don’t deserve to live in these types of conditions and are being treated horribly by the owner of this complex,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said. “Our office will continue standing up for tenants’ rights and working to hold this bad actor accountable.”
In a lawsuit filed in Marion County court, the state cited "repeated sewage floods" and a lack of repair work afterward. The lawsuit brings the following counts:
- Count 1: Systemic failure to satisfy statutory landlord responsibilities
- Count 2: Deceptive representations of "habitability" and "habitation"
- Count 3: Incurable deceptive acts
- Count 4: Knowing violations of the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act
A look inside
Residents inside the apartments shared photos with WTHR, showing the issues they are reporting.
“My old apartment, it flooded every day with about 20 buckets,” Isaiah Mance said. “If you’ve seen some of these apartments, you would probably die. It’s that bad.”
13News saw sinks overfull with dirty water, and black mold growing from standing pools on the floors.
The dumpsters outside the apartments were overflowing with so much trash, it spilled into the middle of the parking lot.
One woman sent us a photo of a rodent, apparently crawling out of her garbage disposal.
“I know I came back home one day from work, and I had a mouse sitting in my sink literally dead,” Dejha Harvey said. “People shouldn’t have to live like this. It’s unlivable.”
Another showed a sink, hanging off the wall by its hot and cold water hookups.
Years of violations
The Marion County Health Department has taken the owners to court 208 times since January 2018. Health department records show that in that same time, they have received 248 complaints.
At that time, the MCHD found widespread mold in the apartments. It took six months to get the owners to clean the issue up.
Since the beginning of October 2024, the MCHD has reported 16 open violations at the complex.
In August 2023, a health inspector found sewage coming up out of a tenant's bathtub and bathroom sink.
On Thursday, April 14, 13News went to the apartment’s management office to ask questions but was directed to call corporate officials. The company did not respond to our emails or phone calls as of Thursday evening.
You can read the state's lawsuit below:
