CINCINNATI (Rich Jaffe) "There's obviously a big difference in power between the landlord and a low income person renting an apartment but their actions of trying to get a landlord to comply with building and health code violations, that's protected by law," said the managing attorney for Legal Aid Society of southwest Ohio.

A local landlord tried to evict the tenants who've been blowing the whistle on deplorable conditions in his building. But Local 12 is getting in his way.

A landlord is trying to silence his tenants and keep them from talking with Local 12 News and city officials about the mess inside one of his apartment buildings. The residents told Local 12 Wednesday, Jan. 28, about their concerns that power may be cut off because the owner, Terrance Sebastian, hadn't been paying his bills.

Even as the story aired, Sebastian was apparently trying to intimidate the tenants with eviction orders. But when tenants officially complain about substandard conditions in buildings it is illegal by both state and local law for landlords to retaliate against them. That was clearly something Terrence Sebastian of TBC Enterprises did not understand.

After showing Local 12 the leaks in his apartment on two different occasions Jesse Duke got a surprise from his landlord