Working two jobs and spending nearly $5,000 out of pocket to tackle yellow jacket infestations, mold, and sewage backups, a Lincoln mother is finally packing her bags to leave her Washington Street rental home after a nearly three-year ordeal.
Ashley Neukirch and her 12-year-old daughter spent nearly three years dealing with severe structural and sanitary issues at the central Lincoln residence, 1011now.com reported. Neukirch said that many of her maintenance requests went largely unresolved, prompting her to spend her own money on bug spray, tarps, and tape while trying to protect her family’s health.
The timeline of neglect stretched across multiple seasons. Text messages show that Neukirch first contacted the property manager on Sept. 26 regarding a yellow jacket infestation in her walls and closet, though someone was not sent to spray until Oct. 8.
Other problems included an air conditioner or furnace that does not work and a basement sewer drain that routinely overflows. “It was all in here. It was all in the wall down here,” Neukirch told 1011now.com, describing a sewage cleanup she handled herself after alleging the property owner never fully resolved the issue.
She also pointed to a moldy hole in the ceiling between the top-floor and bottom-floor apartments at 1514 Washington Street. “If you come under here, it goes to my neighbor’s apartment and you can actually see her apartment up there,” Neukirch told 1011now.com. “Sometimes you can see her dogs. It leaks every time she showers. It has never been fixed.”
The cumulative effect of these unresolved maintenance failures took a heavy psychological toll. “God, mentally it’s draining,” Neukirch told 1011now.com, adding that she often came home exhausted with no energy left to tackle the latest household emergency. “And when I come home, I don’t know what the problem will be. But I come home knowing there’s going to be a problem.”
Court records show that property owner Lee Simmons faces multiple open misdemeanor violations of Lincoln municipal code for inadequate building maintenance, with eight of those charges filed this year. Simmons has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When 1011now.com called Simmons on Wednesday, the first call went to voicemail, but he answered a second call and agreed to speak Thursday morning. However, when reporters called back at the agreed-upon time to ask about the misdemeanor cases, Simmons declined to comment.
“No, I don’t have anything to say to the news,” Simmons told 1011now.com. When asked if he wanted to address the condition of his properties, he answered, “No.”
Simmons is scheduled to appear in Lancaster County court next month on the misdemeanor charges.
Tenants facing similar habitability issues in Lincoln can report problems directly to the city through the UpLNK portal. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law operates a tenants rights program for renters resolving disputes over housing conditions.
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