HYDE PARK, Fla — In January, Dakota Carey reached out to ABC Action News to share his concerns about his Hyde Park apartment complex.
He told us Lumi Hyde Park is peppered with problems like trash piling up and doors left unsecured, despite being advertised as 'luxury living.'
"We've had ongoing issues with trash and security in this building... My motorcycle got stolen," Carey explained.
Carey walked ABC Action News' Lydia Vazquez right into the commons room and showed us how none of the exterior doors locked.
He claimed he wanted out of his lease but couldn't leave without paying a $5,000 penalty. Since our original story aired, Carey said management reached out.
"The day after the story aired, they did allow us to move out of the property without having to pay any of the penalties," Carey explained.
But not everyone was offered that same deal.
"I absolutely wish we could have ended our lease early. Like, I would have moved out right away," Sam Uelstorozuk said.
Uelstorozuk and Adison Pusateri reached out to us on social media after seeing our story. They said even after they moved out, they continued to deal with a mountain of issues.
"They actually owed us. Somehow they reversed it and sent us to a collections agency," Pusateri explained.
Uelstorozuk and Pusateri shared an email with Vazquez that management reportedly CC'd them on.
"'We owe them $281.38. Please do not contact them via letter or phone. Please don't call them.' That was after we were getting harassed by collections. Still never got the $281.00 by them, though," Pusateri added.
"I felt like I was cheated when my motorcycle was stolen out of their secured garage," Carey said.
"They have plastered everywhere they're not responsible if your car gets broken into, but somehow they're allowed to advertise that they have a locked garage; it's never locked," Pusateri said.
Now, Carey said he's calling on management to follow through with their claim to either fix the problems or let others out of their lease.
"I am lucky that I had set myself up to be able to go ahead and leave as immediately as we did. I had a security deposit set aside for another place. But, the reality is, a lot of people can't just do that," Carey said.
Uelstorozuk and Pusateri said they believe management should be held accountable.
"Everything is getting more expensive and consumers are kind of getting treated worse in every aspect and housing, we need to find a way to stand up to like those that are ripping us off. It feels like it's finally time to just put your foot down and tell them you can't do this anymore," Uelstorozuk said.
ABC Action News contacted management on multiple occasions. We even went inside the local office at Lumi Hyde Park. They told us they had no comment.
Since then, we've made more calls Westdale Asset Management, the company overseeing the complex, to give their side of the story. We have not yet heard back.
