Milwaukee apartment heat problems; multiple residents complain of cold

MILWAUKEE - More Milwaukeeans say they're living without heat.

The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services said so far, they have almost two dozen active inspections for people in the city with no or insufficient heat. They expect to get more complaints.

Bruce Hampton said he is at his wits’ end.

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"This is ridiculous. I’m 70-years-old," said Hampton. "You need your coat on in here."

Since mid-November, Hampton said he has been living without heat. He rents his apartment from Berrada Properties, one of Milwaukee's biggest landlords.

He pointed to the sign out front, saying heat included. He also noted he has called management multiple times a week and was told there would be a maintenance request, and someone would get back to him.

He said he now sleeps in his jogging suit to stay warm.

"Never did. And that was three weeks ago," Hampton said. "I can raise hell, but they ain’t going to do me no good."

Hampton isn't the only one.

"We will be handling complaints probably throughout this cold weather season," said DNS residential code enforcement manager Lorie Gallup.

So far, Milwaukee's DNS has 21 active inspections of no or insufficient heat. That's on par for this time of year.

In these cases, the first step is to report the problem to your landlord.

If nothing happens after 24 hours, the DNS is your next call. That's when the department can issue an emergency order to turn the heat on to 67 degrees.  

"We give them 24 hours, if they do not do anything within that 24 hours, we will conduct an inspection," Gallup said.

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The DNS can also fine landlords, but hasn't had to do that yet this season.

"We could be getting to that soon," Gallup said. "I would hope not."

Hampton said he hadn't called the DNS, as he didn't know that was an option. Now he just hopes he gets answers before the next temperature drop.

"When you wake up and you thank the Lord for things, you thank him for shelter and food, family and friends, but shelter ain’t just having a roof over your head," he said. "Heat and everything else comes with it."

Berrada Properties has not responded to FOX6 News when asked about the complaints.

Anyone needing to contact the DNS can call 414-286-CITY (2489).