TAMPA — Tampa Bay’s housing crisis converged with Florida’s gubernatorial race on Tuesday as Democratic candidate Nikki Fried used two local apartment complexes as examples of how the runaway market has affected renters.

Fried held a press conference outside Silver Oaks Apartments, where residents and local activists said living conditions included endemic mold, rodents and plumbing problems. Several local news outlets, including WTSP-Ch. 10 and Creative hobbies in Tampa Bay, have documented issues in units compatible with these accounts. A resident also shared photos and videos with the Tampa Bay Weather mold and plumbing issues in their unit, including water leaking from the base of a toilet.

Fried said that because rent prices in Tampa Bay, like other places in the state, have skyrocketed at a record rate, residents of places like Silver Oaks have no choice but to go elsewhere. Residents of Silver Oaks generally have low income and resort rents are subsidized by the federal government.

“Tenants in Florida are being exploited and that’s totally wrong,” Fried said. “Here at Silver Oaks Apartments…management has flouted not only federal rules, but the rules of common decency and respect.”

Fried, who currently serves as commissioner for agriculture and consumer services, said she hadn’t seen the conditions inside the units, but had seen “sumlords” before.

She said Republican dominance of state politics for decades has led to the neglect of issues such as affordable housing, posing as a candidate “with the people.” She and other Democrats running to replace Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis have frequently brought up the state’s affordable housing crisis, saying it’s an issue being ignored in favor of culture wars.

Silver Oaks is managed by Cambridge Management Inc., which is based in Tacoma, Washington. Katelynn DeSart Perez, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email that Cambridge “is working directly with residents to resolve any issues and encourage them to submit service.” requests by telephone, e-mail, at the management office or via the resident portal.

This isn’t the first time Cambridge Management has been called out by a Florida politician. US Senator Marco Rubio wrote a letter to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in June urging the agency to inspect all properties managed by the company after its staff visited a Jacksonville resort and found “a serious rodent infestation and a chronic overflow of garbage”.

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Rubio also said Silver Oaks received a “failing” score of 40 out of 100 in a 2020 inspection from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“We can’t go on living like this,” said Vonnesha King, a resident who spoke at Tuesday’s press conference, before starting to cry.

LaShunda Davila said her 22-year-old son’s asthma had gotten worse since he had been living at the resort.

“When he comes (over), he smells of mold, his clothes, everything,” she said.

Fried’s stop in Tampa was part of a tour highlighting his plan to fight affordable housing in the state, the first political rollout of his campaign. The proposals include increasing homestead exemptions to $100,000, directing the attorney general to investigate aggressive landlords for price gouging and converting old hotels and motels to bargain units.

In Silver Oaks, residents also recently received a letter advising them that starting Tuesday, their units would be subject to a “housekeeping inspection,” and any resident whose apartment has not been found in “an acceptable state of safety and health” could have his lease terminated, according to a copy given to the Time.

DeSart Perez of Cambridge Management said the inspections are a “routine part of residential house maintenance and are intended to identify and resolve any maintenance issues”.

Tampa activist Connie Burton alleged that management’s behavior, including inspections, was retaliatory against residents.

Fried said she would see if anything could be done within her department to help residents.

Fried also made a stop in St. Petersburg at the former site of the Stanton Hotel and Stanton Apartments, at Second Avenue N and Third Street. Residents there, who were also on a low income, had to leave the property from the end of last year after the building was sold, which could become a boutique hotel.