KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WBTV) – Temperatures in Kings Mountain Monday evening hovered around 40 degrees. Joshua Weaver, who is a Kings Mountain resident and United States Marine Corps veteran, has been paying close attention to the weather recently.
He told WBTV on Monday that he is worried he’ll be spending another winter without heat in his home. He said that chilly temperatures over the last week have forced him out of his home come nightfall.
“I had to actually go to a shelter so that I could stay warm,” Weaver said.
The veteran said he has been asking his landlords to fix the heat and air conditioning in his Waco Road home since June of 2016. He claims that on multiple occasions a maintenance worker has come to inspect the systems but has never fixed anything.
“I pay you for these conveniences. These are the conveniences you gave me when I moved in. Why aren’t you fixing them?” Weaver asked.
He claims these questions have gone unanswered. However, one of his landlords, Brandy Watts, claims Weaver has actually had heat in his home.
“I’ve sent out three times an AC guy this past summer and winter,” Watts said.
She said the worker has told her that the home has working heat.
Weaver disagrees. He said the thermostat inside of his home works, but the temperature inside of the home never elevates to the temperature set on the thermostat.
Watts claims she has proof that the heat is working and said she doesn’t know why Weaver is complaining about the situation.
“I don’t know why to be honest. I don’t know what his problem is. I have no clue,” said Watts.
When asked why he hasn’t moved out of the home, Weaver said he financially cannot afford it.
“I just can’t afford to up and move,” he said.
Weaver said he tried contacting Legal Aid of North Carolina but was told he couldn’t be helped because he made a little too much money to qualify for assistance. He said he isn’t angry with his landlord, he just wants working heat in his home.
“I just want heat. I just want what’s humanly required that I pay for. I pay for it on a monthly basis. Why can’t I use it?” Weaver said.
Mike Roper, who is the director of Building Codes and Code Enforcement for the city of Kings Mountain, said the house was inspected a couple of weeks ago. He said inspectors made note of Weaver’s complaint that the heat wasn’t working but are not qualified to physically test the heating.
Roper said a landlord told him that a contractor inspected the heat Monday and will send proof of working heat to Roper’s office. Roper said the house had other issues that needed to be brought up to code as well, and the landlords have been made aware of those issues.