Local

Woman rents Beaver Falls home, discovers it had been condemned

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — A woman moved her family into a Beaver Falls home in April, only to find that it had been condemned.

Nayoka Ellison and her four children lived in the 13th Street home for two weeks before finding out that they had to move out.

"I went up to talk to the lady that worked at the city building and she told me that they came in two years ago, flagged it uninhabitable and it's been uninhabitable for two years," said Ellison.

Ellison, who had met with the landlord and paid a security deposit, was unaware of any problems with the house.

"It looked like it might need a couple coats of paint on the walls, maybe some carpeting, but once I had all my stuff in there, it looked good," she said.

After receiving a letter from the city that urged her to find another place to live, she and her kids moved out.

"They're dependent on me to take care of them and this situation is just really hard on them," said Ellison. "You see this stuff all the time, but you never think it's going to happen to you."

The letter given to Ellison by the city also said that her supposed landlord doesn't own the home and that he is not permitted to sublet it.

Channel 11 spoke with that man, who maintains that he owns the property. He said that Ellison had to move out because she didn't pay her water bill.