Plumbing Fiasco At Off-Campus Apartment Plunges Temple University Students Into Disgusting Nightmare
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Four Temple University students are stuck in the stink as they're locked in a messy situation with their landlord. It's a plumbing fiasco that has plunged these Temple roommates into a disgusting nightmare.
"When I came home, it was very high in the toilet and the bathroom," Sydney Rebhun said.
That was on Wednesday afternoon when sewage in their off-campus rental near 16th and Susquehanna Streets starting filling their tub and toilet.
"And then it started to overflow," Rebhun said.
Rebhun and Dianne Rask are two of the four roommates who live in the unit.
Rask, whose basement bedroom also filled with sewage, sent an email to the property owner shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
"All of my clothing and my books and everything in my bedroom were wet," Rask said. "I had to throw them all away yesterday."
He didn't respond until nearly five hours later and the tenants say a plumber didn't arrive until the next morning.
"And it got worse. I feel like after the plumber came yesterday morning because it was literally splattered on the walls," Rebhun said.
A spokesperson with Licenses and Inspections confirmed an inspector arrived at the home on Thursday afternoon and issued a violation to the owner for unclean conditions.
The tenants say they need the apartment deep-cleaned and they reached out to CBS3 since they say the landlord would not confirm whether that would happen.
After being hung up on the owners, Peter Lien and Abhi Patel finally agreed to speak to CBS3 on camera.
"Throughout the night, they sent me messages like this is my fault," Lien said. "Like I should be doing this right now. But it's after-hours. I can't get plumbers to come out 24/7."
When told there were 24-hour plumbers, Lien said, "Well, I don't know of any."
They've promised to have the unit professionally deep-cleaned by this weekend.
They say they have quotes from restoration companies and that they're paying for the cleaning.
A base cleaning has been completed at the apartment, but the owners say they'll hire a professional restoration company to do a deep-cleaning of the lower level by the weekend.
