Serenity Towers ruled chronic nuisance by judge

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Serenity Towers has been ruled a chronic nuisance by a judge Tuesday evening.

"There is no way around the fact that this is a chronic nuisance," Judge Dandridge said.

Described as displaying a "pattern that negatively impacts the health and safety of occupants", Judge Dandridge said that was the qualification that led to the ruling.

This comes after a months-long battle between the city and the apartment complex.

Mold, no hot water, bed bugs and leaks make up a long list of issues found at Serenity Towers during a recent inspection a few weeks ago.

Video shown in court Tuesday showed a major leak with water coming into a man's bathroom in his apartment.

He said he has to use a toilet cleaner three times a day to let the water drain.

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WREG also learned about a code enforcement sweep which confirmed that nearly 80 apartments have bed bugs, 200 have no working air conditioning and more than 70 are infested with bugs.

During court, multiple witnesses shared their harrowing experiences of living at Serenity Towers and dealing with its current property manager.

Tuesday was the first of three hearings that will take place.

At the owner's expense, there will need to be a unit-by-unit inspection. There was a City of Memphis sweep on September 30 that may qualify, but that won't be decided until October 29, when the second hearing takes place.

Both sides will appear in court again 30 days after that for the final hearing.