Jairus Cannon and Mark Thompson say they have been living with a gaping hole in their living room floor since just days after they moved into their Southwest Atlanta apartment. The gap, roughly 8 inches wide, split apart across the living room floor at Gateway South Apartments, forcing Thompson to lay a board across the opening just to walk through his own home safely.
Thompson moved into the unit on June 10, and by June 30 he says he had already started noticing signs of trouble with the floor, according to WSB-TV. Cannon put it bluntly to the station: “It’s horrible.” He said the apartment is not safe, and the situation is especially precarious for him since he relies on an oxygen tank and a defibrillator to get around.
Channel 2 Action News cameras captured what appeared to be rotted wood and loose support beams beneath the floor, exposed once the gap tore open. The brothers believe previous water damage may have contributed to the deterioration, though that has not been independently confirmed. When Thompson was offered another unit on the property, he declined it after spotting what he believed were similar signs of floor damage there as well.
Leasing Staff Reaction and Management’s Response
A Gateway South Apartments leasing-office employee, after being shown video footage of the damaged floor by reporter Ashli Lincoln, called the damage insane, per the station’s report. That reaction came only after the news outlet began asking questions, and the property’s management company, Emerald Management Enterprises, reportedly reached out to the brothers directly around the same time.
Emerald Management, which manages Gateway South Apartments, told the station it is aware of the residents’ concerns and that resident safety and well-being remains a priority, according to a company statement. The company has communicated directly with the residents and informed Thompson that the apartment must be vacated so the damaged flooring can be removed and repaired. Management also offered a furnished apartment on the property for temporary use during repairs and offered reimbursements to the brothers, though Thompson maintains he should be reimbursed for everything he gave management. Emerald Management has since allowed the brothers to break their lease and says it plans to facilitate their relocation while addressing the apartment’s conditions.
A Complex With a Troubled Track Record
Gateway South Apartments, at 2001 Sylvan Road SW in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood, is a 168-unit complex originally built in 1976, according to Apartment Finder. The property carries an F rating with the Better Business Bureau for failing to respond to consumer complaints, a rating that measures how well a business handles complaints filed against it. Emerald Management Enterprises also operates other residential properties in the region, including Residences on Riverdale in College Park and Gardens at Park West in Forest Park, per ShowMeTheRent.com.
The complex has drawn police attention beyond this incident. Just this month, Atlanta police arrested a kidnapping suspect at the same address after officers forced entry into an unconditioned trailer where two abducted young children were recovered, according to Atlanta Black Star. In March 2025, Atlanta Police Zone 3 officers responded to a fatal shooting at the complex that left a 26-year-old man dead, the Atlanta Police Department reported at the time.
Georgia’s New Habitability Law and Enforcement Gaps
The floor collapse comes a little over two years after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 404, known as the Safe at Home Act, which requires all residential leases in the state to explicitly guarantee that units are fit for human habitation. The law filled a gap in a state that had previously lacked explicit statutory habitability standards, according to the AJC.
In Atlanta, structural defects like loose support beams, floor holes, and deteriorated timber fall under the city's housing code, enforced through the Atlanta Police Department's Code Enforcement Section and subject to municipal court prosecution. But that system relies heavily on tenants filing complaints through ATL311 or other city channels, and housing advocates say fear of retaliation often delays reporting of severe structural damage, according to Atlanta Civic Circle.
The stakes of that delay are significant for renters citywide. Renters occupy roughly 54% of Atlanta's housing units, representing more than 123,000 households, per Point2Homes. Statewide, 53.1% of Georgia renter households are considered cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing, according to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data cited by the AJC — a financial reality that makes sudden, forced relocations like the one facing Cannon and Thompson especially difficult to absorb.
