AUSTIN, Texas — Texans still dealing with storm damages continue to face displacement and housing advocates say in many cases, illegally.
Nearly three months after the February freeze, renters living in apartments in need of major repairs are getting the boot from landlords. One of the latest properties to do this is Mueller Flats Apartments, which has more than 100 open cases with the Austin Code Department that are listed in the repeat offender program.
Bryan Campuzano’s apartment still has storm damage from when a pipe burst in his parent’s bedroom. The walls are exposed, sheetrock is all over the carpet and there are metal beams hanging from the windows.
Campuzano explained how this has been a health issue for his youngest sister who has down syndrome.
“She’s been getting sick because of all the dust that’s been flying all over the apartment,” he said.
Since then, Campuzano's mother, stepfather, two sisters, niece and Campuzano himself have all had to sleep in one room. Their apartment is chaotic, with piles of belongings and boxes everywhere as he and his family frantically pack.
Campuzano is of the residents at Mueller Flats who got a lease termination notice.
“They gave us a paper saying we needed to move out so they could fix the apartment,” he said.
So far, around 18 people reported the notice to Mueller Flats Tenant Association, but leadership told Spectrum News 1 that the number is probably much higher.
The notice says tenants have seven days to move out, and if they do not, property management will be forced to remove their belongings and throw them out.
The nonprofit BASTA has been working tirelessly to help renters throughout the area who organizers say are being treated unfairly and unlawfully. Under Texas property code, tenants and landlords can terminate leases in the event of a disaster when the home is uninhabitable, but it does not allow landlords to forcibly remove people from their homes.
Many renters don’t know their rights or are choosing to move out because the conditions are so bad. Maragret Atkins left her home of ten years because it was too unbearable to reside there.
Atkins walked through her empty apartment to show Spectrum News 1 the mold growing on the ceiling. The carpet is gone, and the walls are gutted.
On her cell phone, Atkins swiped through photos of flooded floors, water damage and her sinks and bathtub filled with sewage water. While talking about her experience, she broke down in tears.
"I’ve been paying my rent on time for ten years," she said. "Why should I beg them to fix my stuff?"
And these stories are not unique. Thousands of residents across Texas are still living with mold, exposed walls, wet carpets, even plumbing problems and they say property management does very little to fix these issues.
A call was made to the leasing office. A woman forwarded Spectrum News 1’s Jamil Donith to a resident care provider number, which required an access code. When she called to get the property manager’s number, the woman at the office claimed she didn’t have it and hung up.
Spectrum News 1 emailed corporate and received the following written statement:
“The health, safety and well-being of the residents of Mueller Flats Apartments are paramount to the property’s ownership team. The ice storm of February 2021 was devastating to so many in our community, including our tenants. Mueller Flats suffered significant damage as a result of this unprecedented natural disaster. Power outages impacted our residents for more than two days, resulting in issues such as burst pipes that led to flooding of individual units and additional structural damage.
Our team continues to work around the clock to repair the damage caused by the extreme weather, with anywhere from 20 to 40 contractors onsite at any given time. We did not want to wait on our insurance claims to be settled before making repairs, so we are investing our own resources in the interim. We know this is an incredibly difficult situation for many of our residents, and we are committed to doing everything we can to restore the property to working order as quickly as possible. As the property includes 396 homes, repairs will take some time given the amount of damage caused by the storm and the limited capacity of construction teams across the region.
In recent weeks, misinformation has been swirling in the community about our response to restoring the property. Of the code violations filed in the last six months (that we are diligently working to clear), 99 percent were filed after, and related to, the natural disaster.
We have been working with an independent third party to assess the level of damage, and they determined that to perform the necessary work, some tenants will need to move out to ensure the safety of all of those involved, which is our top priority. Those tenants are able to end their leases with no penalty whatsoever, and we are offering a no-rent transition period, allowing them to find other housing.
We are actively working to address every resident’s needs and do everything we can to minimize impacts during this challenging time.”
Campuzano, along with others, say they have been living in unsafe conditions for three months already. He noted how aside from the letter, he hasn’t received any communication from staff offering support or reimbursement.
BASTA organizers say they will be seeking legal action if property management forces anyone to move out against their will.
An Austin Code Department spokesperson stated that inspectors have been on-site almost every day, and the Building and Standards Commission plans to address the ongoing maintenance issues at a special meeting on May 13. Still, after nearly three months, residents have seen little progress, despite the city and the property management’s claims.
So, what went wrong? Spectrum News 1 has contacted countless city leaders, state regulatory agencies, housing authorities and county commissioners — yet no one seems to know who is responsible.
The only groups holding landlords accountable are nonprofits or independent lawyers with little political power, funding or staff.