‘You hear this gurgling in the toilet?’; Woman angry over sewage gushing into her apartment for months

By Damon Maloney

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    EUCLID, Ohio (WEWS) — Janiya Smith said her apartment at the Villa View Apartments in Euclid never felt like home.

She said sewage started flooding her unit, through the toilet and bathtub, in late December/early January and was never fixed.

“We woke up and it’s pretty much just sewage filled the whole tub was just brown,” Smith said. “We didn’t really know where it came from at first, but then we see like floating feces and stuff. So, we knew it had to be like some type of sewage.”

She reached out to News 5, stating other avenues led to inaction. She invited me into her apartment last week, and our crew witnessed what she described as happening daily.

“It’s about to back up actually. You hear this gurgling in the toilet?” Smith said. “And you’re going to start smelling it.”

As the contaminated water rose, Smith ran to the apartment building’s hallway to grab a mop and bucket.

“I go get the mop bucket from outside the door that they gave to us… that we use and then we just kind of try to surround buckets around the toilet so that if it overflows or comes out like it’s doing now we can catch it,” Smith said.

With an extremely foul odor, the water spilled over the toilet for minutes.

Smith began mopping, soaking up the water, cleaning and disinfecting.

“So this is week after week you’re dealing with sewage coming into your apartment?” I asked.

“Every day actually,” Smith replied.

She cleaned as her three-month-old son woke up from a nap and cried.

Smith said multiple conversations with the landlord nor Euclid City Hall have brought relief.

“I don’t get any answers. I don’t get anything,” Smith said. “I have a son now. So, this is just completely inhumane.”

News 5 attempts to reach landlord

Records show the landlord is 260 E. 244th, LLC. Brian Swift and Dontez Sanders are listed as partners.

I went to the leasing office on Tuesday, but no one answered.

I called the office last week and again on Tuesday and left voicemails.

On Tuesday, I also called the numbers listed for both men and left messages for a callback.

Cuyahoga County Board of Health gets involved

On Tuesday, I learned the Cuyahoga County Board of Health visited Villa View Apartments last Friday.

“What we found when we got there were unsanitary conditions,” said Kevin Brennan with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

The board noted an open trench being used to capture sanitary waste, which the board said was going on for months due to collapsed sewer pipes. Repairs still need to be completed.

“From what we understand… there were collapsed sewer pipes in the building. There were cast iron pipes that had started to rot or crumble,” Brennan said. “And so as a result there was leakage in the sanitary system.”

Brennan added, “And so that caused us to ultimately issue (an) order of abatement of nuisance.”

I asked, “And do you know if this open trench sewer issue is tied to the resident complaint of sewage coming into her unit for the last couple of months?”

Brennan said. “From what we understand from the property manager that is correct.”

A posted permit at Villa View Apartments, dated May 8, 2024, described sanitary sewer repair.

“There is resolution at hand,” Brennan said. “They have agreed on a path to complete this (sewer repairs).”

Smith moves out

The planned fix is too late for Smith, who moved out this past weekend.

She has filed a small claims complaint against Villa View Apartments/Dontez Sanders, asking for $6,000.

“I feel like I’ve fought every possibility… every pathway,” Smith said.

A hearing in that case is scheduled for June 27.

A criminal case against 260 E. 244th, LLC, in Euclid Municipal Court, is also underway for housing code violations at Villa View Apartments related to windows, doors, plumbing and electric lights.

Not guilty pleas have been entered for the misdemeanor charges. A pretrial is set for July 11.

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