Manager of 417 Rentals addresses poor housing conditions

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – We reported on the bad conditions of a rental property in Springfield three years ago.

Now we’re hearing about more complaints about the same rental property.

Springfield city inspectors tagged an apartment unit on South Grant Avenue as a dangerous building back in 2017.

Property owner Chris Gatley made the necessary repairs. It passed inspection allowing him to rent it again.

However, the people currently living at the complex say their units are unsafe and the conditions are unlivable. They say they’ve been going without water and limited electricity among other problems.

Tuesday, we talked to the current manager of 417 Rentals, Kayla Taylor, about these issues and Gatley’s plans for his properties.

“It’s like staying in an abandon house with utilities sometimes,” said renter Alanis Force.

Another renter, who preferred to remain anonymous said, “Nobody has been out to fix our water. I can’t even bathe my kid. We’ve had to go to the level of finding places to fill up five gallon buckets of water just to flush our toilet.”

Tenant Tammy Sisson said, “I don’t feel safe here. I have exposed wires in my bedroom. I have no running water. I had to wait almost a month to get my toilet fixed.”

These are just a few of the recent complaints.

“I told them no one’s in trouble for contacting KY3. If they did contact you I don’t know who did. I didn’t ask. That’s not what’s important. What’s important is I know they’re stressed. I know that they’re upset. I feel for their situations. I really do want to help them,” said manager Kayla Taylor.

She has been managing 417 Rentals list of properties in Springfield since November.

She gave us a tour of the apartment complex to show us some of the progress..

“We’ve replaced all the floor in here. We replaced it all the way through here. Recently with the pipes busting this (the ceiling) has come down. We have full intentions of fixing this as soon the pipes are fixed. It’s a process,” she explained.

In the meantime, Taylor says, the rental company has been working with tenants.

“I’m not pressuring anyone to pay rent until this stuff is fixed,” she said.

We asked “They won’t be evicted?”

“No, they are not going to be evicted due to the conditions here. Absolutely not,” said Taylor.

We’ve tried to speak to Gatley about his properties for years. We asked Taylor why he agreed to have her speak to me on his behalf.

“I don’t think the concern has changed. I think he’s always been concerned. I think the way that he looks at things has changed since his accident. I don’t think he was aware of what was happening. He had so many properties. How can one man, you know, he has to trust people. He put his trust in a lot of the wrong people,” she explained.

She says 417 Rentals will continue work to turn their properties around.

“It’s one step at a time. I know that’s not a good excuse. I know it makes no one feel better. It’s just literally the truth and all we can do. We’re not just going to leave them high and dry here,” Taylor said.

Taylor says Gatley has listed the properties he has left in Springfield, about 100, on the market to sell. He plans to take a step back from his business and focus on healing after being shot two years ago.

We reached out to the city about the inspection process and how buildings like get cleared, allowing people to move back in if they are still unsafe.

We’re told we can expect more information from officials Wednesday.

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