Little Havana apartment building residents say structure unsafe

MIAMI – Residents complain one Miami apartment building is not safe to live in and say this is not something that happened overnight.

RAM Miami River South Apartment Complex in Little Havana has unsafe structure complaints related to flooding on the 5th floor and residents say, “Something needs to be done soon.”

“If nobody does anything, this could be the next Surfside,” said Alejandra Quintero, who is a resident. 

Residents who call the RAM Miami River South Apartment Complex home say they are dealing with flooding, not on the ground level but on the fifth floor. 

Residents say this has been an ongoing issue shutting their water off without warning.

“Because, if the apartments get wet it’s going to mess up a bunch of things. Personal items, appliances. All of your stuff because the flooding is horrible,” said Veronica Aponte, a resident. 

“I can’t do my daily living activities. I can’t cook. I can’t flush a toilet. I can’t shower. I can’t brush my teeth. This a lot of stress and it has impacted my work,” said Quintero. 

The flooding is just one problem on the list.

Residents say one elevator has been broken for some time, the other elevator is due for a new license and the pipes keep breaking leading to the flooding.

The City of Miami showed up Tuesday and put a notice on the building saying they do not have a certificate of use or a tax receipt for the type of business.

CBS News Miami went to the property management office.

“Ongoing? Are you guys filming me? I did not authorize you to film me,” said the manager. 

CBS News Miami has requested copies of the complaints against the building and we will update you as soon as we get them.

As for the notice they received Tuesday, they have until March 18th to get up to code for these violations.