Family Displaced After Rain Caused Roof To Collapse In Hallandale Beach

HALLANDALE BEACH (CBS4) - The recent heavy rainfall caused a mess for a Hallandale Beach family. They say the rains caused a ceiling to collapse in their apartment and they say their landlord ignored the problem for weeks.

Fequiere Pierre said his 81 year old grandfather was sleeping in his bed Monday afternoon when the rains were pouring down.

"Around 2:30-3 o'clock I heard a big boom," Pierre told CBS 4's Carey Codd. "Everything come down. He was there sleeping."

Pierre said pieces of the ceiling rained down on his grandfather, injuring him. Pierre said Monday was his grandfather's birthday.

Family members said the elderly man did not break any bones but has several injuries.

Pierre said he warned the landlord that part of the ceiling caved in during heavy rains a few weeks ago and the ceiling looked to be in bad shape after this weekend. Pierre wanted the landlord to fix the ceiling.

"I call him today," Pierre said. "I said I want you come and see the roof. It almost come down. He said, I send somebody. I send somebody. He never show up."

The owner of the building did not want to give us his name but he said Pierre never warned him of the damage.

"That's not true," the owner said. "We just heard about it today."

The owner said he's never had a problem with the roof before and called Pierre a good tenant. The owner said he expects to repair the damage on Tuesday.

But Pierre is concerned about the safety of his family -- especially his wife and two children. He said he plans to look for a new place to live.

Pierre claims the owner neglected this building, leading to a dangerous situation.

"I told him, he like to collect the money," Pierre said. "But he don't want to fix anything."