SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Don’t rely on a friend, uncle or a stranger or a non-resident to report a problem with rental housing in Sioux Falls.

“What we can’t act on anecdotal stories or hearsay evidence (of) ‘I know someone who this, this and this,'” Kevin Smith, a planning official with the city said in Friday news conference.

And tweeting about the problem on social media and calling for action by the mayor, won’t work, Mayor Paul TenHaken said in the news conference.

TenHaken and Smith had a news conference in part, as response to residents of apartments owned by Tzadik Management in Sioux Falls getting notices on their doors about utilities being shut off.

Smith said the city staff cannot just show up and knock on doors to inspect property based on hearsay, it needs evidence submitted by renters.

“The situation talking about today from tenants’ perspective, so important to get contacted by those individuals personally,” Smith said.

Residents of rental housing in Sioux Falls need to document the problem such as leaky pipes, broken windows, and check the lease and first approach the property manager and/or landlord to try and resolve the issue, Smith said. If the issue is not resolved, then, contact the city.

If the issue is not resolved, the resident should contact the city’s property maintenance team, Smith said. The team can schedule an inspection.

The city gives the property manager and owner time to fix code violations, Smith said. If the violations are not fixed, the case can be referred to the city attorney, he said.

But in the majority of cases, the issues are resolved after one contact from the city, Smith said.

The city responded to 5,400 cases in 2024 and in 90% of those cases, the issue was resolved quickly, he said.

Some companies are frequent subjects of renter complaints, TenHaken said.

TenHaken had a news conference about one year ago to discuss his frustration with issues at Tzadik Management properties.

On Friday, he said the company and tenant complaints are taking up “more city resources than they should. Quite frankly I’m tired of it.”

TenHaken said the city continues to investigate and act on legitimate complaints from residents and while progress has been made in one year, he’s disappointed in the overall ethics and morals displayed by the company.

“We don’t regulate morals and ethics. That’s on the property owners and managers,” TenHaken said.

City staff meets monthly with the company for about a year which has helped reduce the number of code violations, he said.

As of Friday, TenHaken said there were 10 open code enforcement cases compared to roughly 35 a year ago. That doesn’t mean everything is in “tip-top” shape, he said.

Renter complaints about issues with properties can be directed to the city property maintenance team on the city’s website. There is a specific page for property maintenance. The phone number is 605-978-6900. The city’s human resources department can be contacted on issues of discrimination and harassment. That email is [email protected]. There is also a website page and phone number at 605-367-8745.

KELOLAND reporter Lauren Soulek will have a story with more details from the news conference and a look back on Tzadik’s history in Sioux Falls later Friday on KELOLAND News.