MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Less than 24 hours after Serenity Towers was declared a chronic nuisance, the WREG Investigators take a closer look at how we got here and how advocates say it shouldn’t happen again. We spoke with a housing attorney in another community where a Millennia-run property faced a nuisance order, who says its up to property owners and HUD to assure the safety and security of the residents. "We're talking about basic human decency. We're talking about children living in places you wouldn't put your worst enemy. You wouldn't put a dog in these places," said Ayanna Jones, an Atlanta attorney who previously worked with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. Serenity Towers declared chronic nuisance by judge Despite the name on the outside, conditions for seniors living inside Serenity Towers, a taxpayer-funded high-rise, are anything but serene. With tubes from an oxygen tank tucked behind his ears, Raymond Rogers described the massive water leak in his 7th floor Serenity Towers unit. One of them, he says, he's been dealing with for three of the four years he's lived there. "You're looking at water dripping from the ceiling into the tub," Rogers said. "I've reported it to the office. They come up, they vacuum it out, they drop a tablet or something in there, two days later it's right back." Rogers was just one of the residents who testified at a trial in Shelby County Environmental Court Tuesday, where the judge ultimately declared Serenity Towers a chronic nuisance. "Where you want me to start?" said 70-year-old Henry Smith when asked about his living conditions. "They don't want to unleash the money they got to fix this building." He shared similar frustrations with WREG during an interview last year. WREG Investigators previously revealed Serenity's owners pulled in nearly a million dollars of your money in 2022, yet failed to pay some of its bills, leaving residents without the safe housing it is legally required to provide. WREG pressed Millennia, but a representative dodged us. Tenants demanded answers too. We questioned the federal agency taking your money to give to Serenity's owners. "HUD does not pay late. So you're getting your HUD money on time. You need to allocate properly," said Jones, the Atlanta attorney. Jones, with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, helped families forced to relocate more than two years ago from Forest Cove, another Millennia-run property, where conditions were so bad, a judge deemed the complex a nuisance and ordered it condemned. ► More coverage on Serenity Towers "So one of my clients, one of her children, fell out of the second story window, not once, but twice, even though the screen had supposedly been replaced," Jones said. Forest Cove was demolished in the spring. At Serenity, the goal is to get the building up to code so residents can stay. Jones said because the enforcement process moves slowly, tenants are often stuck in unsafe conditions until the owners, government and courts get it right. She said the tenants often are "Elderly people, sick people who are not able to take care of themselves and who therefore have to rely on a strong arm, someone like government agency or a property owner who has money and can put money into these properties.">" Millennia is trying to sell Serenity and the majority of its affordable housing. And HUD has officially barred the Ohio-based company from doing any business with federal government until 2028. It's a major shift after entering into agreements with Millennia all across the country several years ago to take over properties from another troubled owner. "I think HUD needs to look more at local buyers, local markets, local people who are invested," Jones said. We reached out to Millennia about the nuisance order and we're waiting to hear back. Meanwhile, HUD says the safety and security of residents at Serenity is its top priority and it's actively working with the owners to rectify the problems. HUD is scheduled to conduct an inspection at Serenity sometime soon. The complex got a failing score of 23 on its last inspection one year ago.