AU students report deplorable apartment conditions, city inspectors involved

AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) – A group of Auburn University students faced an unexpected nightmare as they attempted to move into Yugo Auburn North, an off-campus apartment complex, where they were promised modern and clean accommodations for the fall semester. Instead, they found units so poorly maintained some opted to stay in hotels rather than face the substandard conditions. The situation has now escalated to involve the City of Auburn’s Inspection Services. Yugo apartment complex is not affiliated with Auburn University.

Gavin Millar and his roommate, Barrett Rosson, were eager to start the new semester at Auburn. After touring a model unit and signing a lease, they were confident their new home at Yugo Auburn North would meet their expectations. However, upon arrival, the reality was far from what they had envisioned.

“I can immediately tell it’s not even the apartment I’m supposed to be in. It’s just filthy. There are stains in the carpet, like colorful stains. Most of the furniture is broken—couches ripped up and stained all over—and you could tell the air quality wasn’t very nice. It smelled of cigarettes for sure,” Rosson said.

Millar echoed his roommate’s sentiments, describing his shock and disappointment: “When I got there, it was ridiculous. It was so much worse than I could’ve ever imagined. My dresser was flat on my bed, and my mattress was like squatted. It was insane.”

Faced with these conditions, the roommates made the decision to leave. They each pay around $600 in rent.

“I went and stayed at a hotel,” Rosson said.

John Krawczyk, another Auburn student, moved into his new apartment at Yugo Auburn North on August 12th, only to find the unit in deplorable condition.

“To an unfinished unit, completely destroyed on the outside—sewage in the sinks, random trash everywhere. This is one of our lights. We are not flicking it at all; it just automatically flickers nonstop. There’s sewage backing up into the top two sinks, warping on the first, second, and third floors, no working washer, dryer, or dishwasher, a cracked door. Stuff under the sinks—what they did is just cut plywood out and put it on top to hide it. My room actually has a broken fire alarm, and when they moved in the bed, they just turned it off; they didn’t fix it at all,” Krawczyk sais.

Students and their parents have expressed frustration with Yugo’s management, citing a lack of communication and responsiveness.

“The management has been horrible,” Krawczyk stated, with Rosson adding, “We waited six hours to speak with somebody and still no answers.”

WRBL visited Yugo’s onsite office seeking a comment from management. While a manager promised to respond, no statement has been provided as of this report.

The severity of the students’ complaints has prompted the City of Auburn to take action. David Dorton with the City of Auburn confirmed the city’s Inspection Services is now involved.

“We’ve received complaints, and the City of Auburn’s Inspection Services is involved. We are on-site and actively looking at potential code violations to work with the company to resolve those issues,” Dorton said.

Despite assurances from Yugo management the issues will be addressed, students are doubtful necessary repairs will be made and are considering legal action.

“I really doubt they’ll do that. In the style it is now, I’m just really not looking to stay there,” Rosson said.

WRBL will continue to follow this developing story.

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