USDA affordable housing in Loudoun evacuated due to unsafe conditions

There are calls for a federal investigation into an affordable housing apartment building in Loudoun County after residents were evacuated because of unsafe conditions.

Residents who live at the Purcellville East Apartments Complex told News4 they’ve been dealing with years of unsafe conditions, including mold, no hot water at times and lack of air conditioning as well.

At the apartment complex, the Loudoun County Fire Department has posted signs saying,
“keep out,” because the building failed its safety inspection earlier this week.

The stairs to the second floor appear to be decaying and rotting. The fire marshal’s office posted a list of all the issues that came up during the last safety inspection, including an issue with a fire alarm and combustible material being stored beneath the stairwell.

“It’s just a shame that it had to take that long because the conditions have been like this for years,” said Ana Heremic, a Purcellville East Apartments resident.

Heremic said she’s lived at Purcellville East Apartments for two years and has dealt with black mold and no air conditioning during the hot summer.

She said it was extremely stressful having to quickly evacuate on Thursday.

“Being a refugee from the Bosnian genocide, it triggered a lot of emotions in me, just seeing all the residents bring outside, frantic crying,” Heremic said.

Virginia Congressman Suhas Subramanyam is now calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for an investigation of what went wrong. The complex was built as part of the USDA’s affordable housing program for low income families.

“There hasn’t been any management, there’s no leasing office, there’s nobody to contact,” Heremic said.

According to the fire marshal’s office, inspectors tried to talk to the property managers on Thursday, but no one was around.

News4 spoke on the phone with landlord William Fekas, who insisted the property is safe and that his staff has always taken care of issues like mold. He admitted the stairs are in need of repair, but said he was planning on doing it and that he feels it’s unfair he wasn’t given a chance to fix it.

Fekas also said he’s already spent $100,000 on repairs and is running out of money but that the USDA allegedly won’t let him raise the rent.

The landlord also told News4 he’s been trying to sell the Purcellville East Apartment Complex for years, but that he allegedly keeps running into red tape from the USDA. News4 reached out to the USDA for comment but has not yet heard back.

In the meantime, the Loudoun County government and several nonprofits said they’re stepping up to help residents, who are now entering November without a permanent place to call home.