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Oakland Apartment Building Residents Report Poor Conditions, Bedbugs

OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – The Oakland City Attorney's office has secured an injunction against landlords of an East Oakland apartment building after residents said they are living in inhumane conditions.

Tenants living at 1620 Fruitvale Avenue said the building has no heat, no working smoke detectors. Residents also said the building is infested with bedbugs.

"We have a housing crisis in the Bay Area, and when there's a crisis of this nature, some landlords behave badly. And all they are trying to do is make a lot of money off of people," Maria Bee, Special Counsel to the City Attorney, told KPIX 5 on Monday.

"This is a marginalized community, like I said, Spanish speaking, low-income," Bee went on to say.

The judge said the owners must address the problems within 40 days or face sanctions and contempt of court charges.

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