ARNOLD, Mo. – Four apartment units on Crosswinds Drive in Arnold have been red-tagged, meaning they’re “unfit for human occupancy.” The renters must move out, but two of them told FOX 2 off camera they’re not going because they have nowhere else to go.

Last week, Arnold city inspectors documented a ceiling collapse in one of the units and concern with the ceiling in a bathroom. They also documented a door that won’t close due to rot and a lot of reported roaches and roach droppings.

The affected renters would not talk to us on camera, but neighbors told us they’ve heard about what’s going on and they sympathize.

“That’s the one thing I’m more concerned about is where they go," Nick Gruendler said. “How are they going to get there? Why are they just now, at the last minute, being told they’re getting kicked out? What do they do with their things?”

Residents on the street said there are about four different landlords for the buildings on Crosswinds and that some of those landlords keep their properties in great shape.

“I think it’s very unfortunate that they have to move out, but luckily, we got a great apartment, and our landlord has done what they need to do to make sure ours are kept up to date,” Janelle Hackmann said.

You can sometimes tell from the outside. Some buildings have newer roofs, and some driveways are newly paved, while others are deteriorating.

“It’s sporadic,” Gruendler said. “Like you go from here, both of these buildings have two different landlords. That has a different landlord.”

At the end of the street is another building that was red-tagged so long ago that the stickers are now faded. Building inspectors shut it down in July 2023. Neighbors said it’s been unoccupied ever since.

“Unfortunately, they’re not all kept up to date,” Hackmann said. “So, some of the floors are crooked; cabinets are falling off.”

The landlord responsible for the latest flagged units did not answer FOX 2’s call or return our voicemail. We noticed two other landlords actively working on other buildings. They told us off camera that they’re very involved in their properties and work on them regularly.

Hackmann said she can tell the difference.

“I feel very lucky,” she said. “Housing isn’t great for a lot of people right now, so ours is definitely very affordable and manageable and convenient.”

It’s a lesson to always check with a neighbor about a place you’re thinking about moving into.

“Usually, the neighbors know the tea on what’s going on on that street,” Hackmann said.