At the Towers at Summit Ridge in Akron’s Chapel Hill neighborhood, residents say daily life has turned into a grind of broken basics and bad smells. Tenants describe a complex in disrepair, with long-running maintenance failures that left some units without heat over the winter and others without hot water for weeks. They report cockroach infestations, a perpetually out-of-service elevator, trash piling up, and dog feces lingering in common areas. Several residents, speaking anonymously because they fear retaliation from management, say they just want faster fixes and straight answers about when repairs will actually happen.
As reported by the Akron Beacon Journal, tenants at the complex, also known as the Towers at Summit Ridge, recounted going without hot water for about three weeks, dealing with recurring pest sightings, and waiting through maintenance delays while those problems dragged on. According to the Beacon Journal, a mix of on-the-record and anonymous residents described the issues as persistent and systemic rather than one-off glitches.
Sue Christopher told the Beacon Journal her unit “was disgusting when she moved in” about 10 months ago, according to the paper’s reporting. Other tenants who spoke to the outlet said they were nervous about putting their names to complaints, citing fear of retribution from management if they spoke out too publicly.
Management points to renovations
The property’s official site says the community is “entering a new era” under new management and lists leasing contact information for residents to report problems. The Towers at Summit Ridge page highlights renovations and upgraded common areas, but does not offer a public timeline for the specific repairs tenants described to reporters.
What the law requires and tenant remedies
Ohio law requires landlords to keep rental units fit and habitable, including supplying running water, reasonable amounts of hot water and heat, maintaining elevators, and keeping common areas safe. Those duties are laid out in the Ohio Revised Code 75321.04, and the statute gives tenants remedies if a landlord fails to act, including depositing rent with the court or asking a judge to order repairs under Ohio Revised Code 75321.07.
Complaints are not new
The Towers at Summit Ridge have been on residents’ grievance lists before. A 2023 Cleveland 19 report featured tenants raising safety and lighting concerns, and management told reporters at the time that it was working to fix those problems. That earlier coverage suggests the newest accounts are part of a longer pattern of tenant frustration over maintenance issues and communication from the property…