Gulfport family concerned about hazardous living conditions

A Gulfport family says they’re being forced to live under hazardous conditions because of their landlord’s negligence. Robert Clark, the tenant of the unit on West Railroad Street, says he is turning to the media for help after failing to get some on his own.

Robert Clark, his wife, and three kids moved into a duplex in February expecting new beginnings for his family. Instead he says he’s moved into a rat infested property due to the hoarding of the tenant living in the unit above him.

“All the rat traps, all the glue traps, all the poison, that’s what we pay for because it’s our responsibility to clean up after his mess.” Robert Clark says he’s had enough of his landlord’s negligence. He says rats haunt his kids and wife during all times of the day.

According to Clark, he reached out to the city code enforcement inspector after his landlord ignored his concerns, but there was nothing they could do to help. “They said hoarding is actually not against the law so there’s nothing they can do as far as her problem,” said Clark.

Clark’s oldest son is living with leukemia and he says he fears the rat poison and rat feces will further affect his health. He says moving out is unfortunately not financially possible at the moment. “It’s hard, my daughter cries every night saying she wants our house to go away and it’s hard to explain to her I can’t make that happen .”

This is not the first family living under these conditions.  John Bailey, who lives in the property next door, says there have been three different tenants in this same property over the last year. “The second person, I became friends with them, talked to them, was with them when they called Mr. Lee on several occasions when they called him about the problems with the lady upstairs.”

News 25 reached out to Amanda Cuevas, the tenant living in the unit before the Clark family. She tells us why she decided to move out. “The hoarding upstairs with the rats and the roaches, the trash in the yard, the son who was living up there. He was dealing drugs.”

News 25 reached out to Mr. Lee, the landlord of the duplex, in search for answers. He says the tenants lacked communication with him about the severity of the problem.

Mr. Lee tells us the tenant accused of being a hoarder will be moving out by the end of the month. “If Mr. Clark wants to remain there and move the lady out upstairs then so be it. If it is a rat infestation at the time I’ll solve that, you know.”

News 25 spoke to Robert Clark after the conversation with Mr. Lee and he says he feels relived to know his concerns will finally be addressed.