Security concerns continue at Downtown Fort Myers apartment complex

Apartments trashed and a lack of security to stop it. People who live at West End City Walk in downtown Fort Myers say this has been their reality in recent weeks.

They find trash, bottles and other garbage in the courtyard. Other amenities like the bathroom and game room, are destroyed.

“There was vandalism on the fifth floor. They carved graffiti into the pool table. They broke some of the bar stools. They broke some of the plants. They spread, like marijuana, pretty much in the sink, in the bathroom, on the tables,” said resident Josh Thiessen.

The people who did this don’t have a key fob to get in and they certainly don’t pay rent.

• RELATED: Apartment community center ransacked in Downtown Fort Myers

Residents at West End City Walk have had it with security concerns.

“The door over here to the left of me, on the right-hand side of the building does not lock securely,” said Thiessen.

“There’s like, people lurking around the community, which is, like, really creepy as a female,” said Dani, another West End resident. “Just to walk at night, or if I go to the gym at night. Now, I’m kind of scared.”

These complaints aren’t cheap. Around here they’re worth a couple thousand.

“I pay $2,000,” said Thiessen. “And I live in a studio.”

According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, “Locks and keys” as well as “clean and safe conditions for common areas” are management’s responsibility.

WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone spoke with an expert to see what rights these tenants have.

“The landlord violates their obligations set forth in the statutes or the express provisions of a lease,” said Real estate lawyer Adam Stevens. “The tenants have a statutory notice that they can provide to the landlord. The seven-day notice entitles the tenant to either threaten that they are going to withhold the rent if it’s not corrected within seven days, or terminate the lease if it’s not corrected.”

WINK News did reach out to the apartment complex’s management team for comment but has not heard back.