Residents at Thomas Paine Square Apartments in the Fillmore say they're dealing with substandard living conditions and a city government that hasn't helped them so far while their landlord ignores their complaints.

It's the latest saga among the group of affordable housing complexes, mostly developed by Black churches in San Francisco's Fillmore District 50 to 60 years ago, which in the last decade have entered a period of instability with issues of deferred maintenance and properties changing hands.

Mission Local reports that tenants at Thomas Paine Square, which sits on the block between Turk Street and Golden Gate Avenue, and between Laguna and Buchanan streets, are accusing their landlord and property manager of negligence, with apartments experiencing persistent mold issues, rotting carpets, and more.

Some residents at the complex have been there for decades, with units that have rent subsidized by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — and maintenance issues like these can sometimes trigger HUD threats to revoke Section 8 permits.

One longtime resident, Barbara Carthen, tells Mission Local, "I’ve been here in Thomas Paine Square for over 50-something years. It has never been as bad as it is now."

The residents say that their complaints to the landlord, the Fillmore-based Bethel AME Church, and the company hired to manage the property, Domus Management Company, go largely ignored — though occasionally requests for mold mitigation will be met with some repainting, only for the mold to return again.

Residents also cite warning signs about asbestos being removed at one unit, though apparently the city Department of Building Inspection does not have any record of this.

Mission Local's shining of the spotlight on the property may lead to some action being taken by Bethel AME Church and its board.

Other troubles have arisen in recent years at several neighboring complexes where units are of a similar age, and where many of the tenants are low-income and subsidized by Section 8.