OMAHA, Neb. — It’s been one month since KMTV reported on a Midtown apartment where tenants claim they haven’t had proper heat in two years. On Friday morning, a new furnace was installed and the heat was turned on.
- After four weeks, heat has been fixed at the Midtown apartment building
- Some tenants still don’t have heat
- The owner has until Feb. 10 to fix the heat or the city will extend the 30 day notice
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“What a relief to know that we’ll be able to simply turn on our thermostat,” Jennifer Mischke said.
David Barenz and Mischke had waited a long time for a warm home.
“It feels amazing; we can’t believe it. They’ve just started it. “It has been a long time coming,” she explained. “We have waited and waited and finally.”
When the KMTV team first met these two in early January, they had to use their oven and space heaters to warm their home.
The story prompted a visit from city inspectors, who confirmed that the apartment was too cold and issued an order to repair the heat.
That happened four weeks ago. While Barenz waited for repairs, temperatures dropped to single digits outside and fell below 40 degrees inside one morning.
But on Friday morning, one month after we first met the couple, the heat was turned on. They could turn off the oven and space heaters.
“Thank you so much,” Mischke replied.
But the story doesn’t end here.
KMTV found out more about the property management company and its owner.
The building belongs to Wise Owl Properties.
According to public records, a man named Mark Habibi, who lives in California, owns or shares ownership of it and other local properties.
KMTV spoke with him on Friday morning.
He denied being a slumlord and claimed that the heat in all of the building’s units had been repaired.
But KMTV contacted the city inspections office. A representative informed our team that permits have been obtained for the work to be done, but that some units still lack working heat.
The deadline for repairs is Feb. 10.
According to Omaha inspections, some of the apartments have mechanical permits, and contractors are working to install heat.
Next week, city staff will determine whether or not to extend the 30-day notice period.
