At Northern Village Apartments in St. Louis County, Missouri, residents say living conditions have become intolerable, citing a family's allegation that their 2-year-old son was bitten by mice.
Property management disputes that, framing some of the criticism as exaggerated and arguing that residents are partly responsible for the ongoing infestation, St. Louis Public Radio reported.
Here's what to know
On Oct. 20, tenants stood outside Northern Village Apartments alongside legal advocacy group ArchCity Defenders to demand accountability and monetary compensation from landlord Mendel Fischer, the property owner and listed president of the management company, TGBG.
Destany Constable and Corey McRoberts were among the residents there, and they said mice allegedly bit their young son inside their apartment, sending the family to the hospital.
"The landlord didn't cover a dime of our medical bills," Constable told STLPR.
Constable also said the family was met with attempted maintenance charges of "hundreds of dollars each request" and threatened with eviction after raising health and safety concerns.
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Yossi Malka, a member of the Northern Village management team, rejected the accusations.
He claimed the complex changed ownership in 2024 and that management has since updated 150 units, replaced roofs, repaired sewer lines, and added security officers, which he says has reduced police calls.
He also said a pest control company makes routine visits and argued that some recurring mouse issues stem from residents not keeping their apartments clean.
More background
The complex's ownership is also facing a major financial crisis.
Ownership owed about $700,000 to gas utility Spire and entered a payment plan before the county's Oct. 19 deadline after saying it had made a "substantial payment" and would cover the rest in installments.
County officials note that payment does not address the broader concerns.
"Paying half of a utility bill just before shut off day is not heroic," said Elizabeth Eisele, chief communications officer for St. Louis County Executive Sam Page.
Ownership also reportedly owes $450,000 in overdue county taxes.
Morgan St. Peters, another tenant, said a pest control worker brings her 20 mouse traps each week and that she killed six mice in four days.
Eisele said county officials issued orders to vacate two additional units, bringing the total number of condemned units in 2026 to 24.
What's being done?
County officials plan to reassess the property and check whether tenants have heat.
"As long as there is heat in the buildings, we won't condemn the complex as a whole," Eisele said, though Malka said management had not yet turned the heat on for the winter season.
Local officials are also weighing emergency support for residents if more units are deemed uninhabitable.
Page asked the St. Louis County Council for $450,000 in emergency and transitional housing, and the council's Committee of the Whole is set to take up Northern Village on Oct. 28.
Eisele also said the county is trying to connect displaced residents with nonprofits.
Tenants, however, want Fischer to meet with them directly. Resident DaMon Watson said organized tenants are demanding a meeting to negotiate "fair compensation for the dangerous conditions and ongoing harms."
Housing fights can take other forms, too. Across the country, renters have said landlords prevent them from making money-saving changes such as gardening or hanging clotheslines to dry laundry.
For people trying to work through those kinds of property rules with landlords or neighborhood associations, this resource on working with HOAs has practical advice.
"There are only two apartments in my unit that are livable, mine and the one across the hall from me," St. Peters told STLPR. "But we both struggle with this mice infestation because the apartments above me and below me are so unlivable."
Where can I learn more?
These stories follow similar disputes over unsafe apartment conditions, pests, and tenant frustration with property rules. They cover renter conflicts over sanitation, neighbors, and pest control.
• A resident discovered hidden rat poison on the property, raising fears for dogs.
• At another complex, tenants weighed breaking a lease after an unacceptable problem spread.
• One renter said an upstairs neighbor's foul habit ruined their backyard view.
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