AUSTIN, Texas — Texans living with storm damage could finally be getting some relief after months of waiting for repairs. 

City leaders in Austin are drawing attention to the lack of support for families living in unsafe conditions or displaced from their homes following the February Texas freeze. Housing advocates and legal aid groups are still scrambling to help hundreds of renters throughout Central Texas.

Two months since the snowstorm, many families are living in apartments without water, plumbing, gas, electricity, or even walls. 

“So this is where they used to sleep when they were doing all this work," Austin resident and renter Maria Santiago said. 

Santiago showed us a picture of an inflatable mattress where her entire family slept in a room that looks like a construction site.

Maria Santiago, her husband Agustin Santiago, and her daughter spent weeks sleeping, eating, and working in an apartment with gutted walls, water damage, and insect infestation. 

The Santiagos speak minimal English. Spectrum News 1's Carlos Garcia translated.  

They say their daughter was attending online classes while construction crews were repairing the apartment. 

“They took out most of the ceiling and the walls and left the insulation in the corner and the insulation started to rot,” Maria Santiago said.

They tell us their apartment was flooded when a pipe burst two floors above them. They now have walls, but their electricity is spotty, some of their lights don’t work, and when we visited them, the air conditioner wasn’t working. 

“It’s like we’re living while they’re building the apartment,” Agustin Santiago said. 

Maria Santiago says property management told them their apartment was uncomfortable, but not unlivable. With no renters' insurance or expendable income for housing they had no other option but to stay.

“I have felt a little bit neglected,” Maria Santiago said. 

Stories like the Santiago’s caught the attention of Austin city councilwoman Vanessa Fuentes and inspired her to act. Austin City Council approved her resolution to address these health and safety violations and is now implementing those recommendations. Fuentes represents South and southeast Austin, which has a large Hispanic population, the majority of whom are renters. 

“They’re not getting the protection and resources they need to have those repairs done in a suitable time,” Fuentes said. “I mean, there are people, there are Austinites living in situations that are unlivable. “

Fuentes and the City of Austin are working to accelerate storm damage repairs and city code compliance timelines for landlords, as well as expand the 311 hotline and add more multilingual dispatchers. The resolution also includes offering relocation services, increased funding for legal aid and rent and utility bill relief. 

In a preliminary report from the city manager, city departments reviewed their current scope and need. The Austin Code Department is working to create an online publish data base on winter storm cases. The Housing and Planning Department finally released data on its emergency home repair program. 

You can see the full report here.

“I see it as the first step of larger reforms that are needed, and I know that it’s important that we’re gonna have to work with our state and federal leaders to truly get reform,” Fuentes said. 

The Santiagos live at Rosemont Oak Valley, which, according to Austin Code, has 10 cases related to storm damages. The Austin Tenant Council says the number of tenants it is working with at that property is far higher. In addition, the Housing Authority of Travis County Board of Commissioners agreed to help find a resolution for tenants at Rosemont Oak Valley and made plans to implement a tenants board. 

The Santiagos say they’ve contacted nonprofits, but the process and language barrier have been very frustrating. 

Their main goal now is to get help terminating their release and finding a new, safer place to call home.