AUSTIN, Texas — Families at a low-income property in East Austin are celebrating a major breakthrough after living without gas and being displaced from their apartments following a gas leak in February. 

What You Need To Know

  • Residents at Mount Carmel Village successfully formed a tenants association

  • Nearly two months ago, the property had to turn off the gas, leaving residents without hot water, hot food and heat

  • Property management agreed to waive several months' rent, provide weekly meals and an upfront stipend

  • Also agreed to was increased maintenance, giving regular updates on renovations and relocation and making improvements to the property

Residents at Mount Carmel Village successfully formed a tenants association with the help of nonprofits and signed an official agreement with property management.  

Taniquewa Brewster is one of the five leaders of the newly formed Mount Carmel Village Tenants Association. They celebrated and laughed during a signing ceremony with city leaders, property management, nonprofit groups and other stakeholders. 

“It should never feel like tenants against property owners, that should never, that feeling is the worst, it’s the most horrible feeling in the world,” Brewster said.  

It’s taken a long time to get to this moment. It wasn’t long ago when Brewster and her neighbors were yelling and demanding action. Nearly two months ago, the property had to turn off the gas, leaving residents without hot water, hot food and heat. 

They struggled to get answers from property management and shortly after, residents learned they had to leave their homes for up to three months while crews replaced the gas line.  

“It has been a rollercoaster, it has been a hell of a process,” Brewster said.  

Brewster and her family are living in temporary housing not far from Mount Carmel. It took months of making noise for tenants to finally have their voices heard. 

City leaders and regulatory agencies took ownership of their failures at the signing ceremony.  

“[I hope] As we are celebrating this path forward, this movement forward, that we don’t and[sic] ourselves here again,” said Austin City Councilwoman Natasha Harper-Madison. “I hope we actually take this opportunity to learn our lesson and listen to tenants at properties. I suspect if they had a good relationship with property management this could have been avoided.”  

Even the property owner, Rene Campos personally apologized to the tenants association.  

“We could have done a better job and maybe addressing some of the needs,” he said. “We’re excited again, we’re sorry. We’re going to do better next time.”  

Mincho Jacob with BASTA has spent countless hours working with residents to create a tenants association and on the agreement they signed here today.  

“It’s been a lot, but it’s good, it’s done something amazing,” Jacob said. “Unless people stand up and say, hey, this is my right I’m protected in this way, it’s very easy for powerful people to look them over.” 

In the contract, property management agreed to waive several months' rent, provide weekly meals and an upfront stipend, increase maintenance, provide regular updates on renovations and relocation and improvements to the property.  

For Brewster, housing security was the most important win today. The contract also includes that all tenants have the right to return. 

Neighbors say It’s a big win, but the fight isn’t over. Tenants still don’t know when they can come home. 

Brewster hopes to be an advocate to other renters who are going through the same struggle.