CEILING COLLAPSE: Milwaukee renter says landlord has failed to fix her ceiling that caved in on Christmas Day
Dec 31, 2025
A Milwaukee woman says her landlord has ignored her pleas for help after her bathroom ceiling collapsed on her while she was showering on Christmas Day.Sarafina Knox was taking a shower when the ceiling in her bathroom caved in,
covering her in debris. For six days, she has been bathing her 9-month-old and 4-year-old daughters in her kitchen sink while waiting for repairs. Knox said she's concerned about herself and her children's health and safety."My main concerns are first, it's health, cause I do have asthma. Within 24 hours, I became sick. I showed all the symptoms of being exposed to mold," Knox said. "It's also safety."Watch: Milwaukee renter says landlord has failed to fix her ceiling that caved in on Christmas Day Milwaukee renter says landlord has failed to fix her ceiling that caved in on Christmas DayKnox immediately put in a maintenance request and contacted her insurance company."I put in my maintenance request, I put in my request with my insurance," Knox said. "This is a health and safety hazard, she didn't respond."The property manager told Knox to submit a maintenance request through the online portal, which she did. Despite continued texts about the emergency situation, Knox said she has heard nothing back."That makes me feel frustrated and kinda heartbroken," Knox said. "I feel like she should've been out here to fix this situation the next business day, which was Friday, and instead she's like, 'I don't do maintenance.'"Knox rents from ING Property Management.TMJ4 called the company Wednesday and was hung up on.We also attempted to visit ING's listed office at 342 N. Water Street, Suite 600, but were told it was only a virtual office and no one was available to speak with us."Obviously, it was the holiday, my daughter's birthday is Sunday, and I don't have no where else to go or extra money to spend to be at a hotel," Knox said. "I just felt like with this being an emergency, she would've come out sooner, but we're six days in, and this don't look like a one-day project."The Department of Neighborhood Services has been contacted about this situation and is working with the tenant.Jenna Rae does stories frequently about problem properties and unresponsive landlords. If there's something you want her to investigate, you can email her at [email protected] story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error
...read more
read less