SAN ANTONIO — Calls for help from tenants at a Medical Center apartment complex are getting answered. This summer, tenants teamed up with the Texas Organizing Project to address problems they claim were occurring at the Seven Oaks apartment complex.
The city of San Antonio has also gotten involved to ensure the repairs are getting done.
The complex at 5903 Danny Kaye is now called Colinas at Medical, although the problems from its time known as Seven Oaks have reportedly continued.
Marco Acuna with the Texas Organizing Project says one of the most common experiences among tenants was a lack of air conditioning, but there are several other problems.
“Insects, rodents, right, basically the hallmarks of substandard living conditions,” Acuna said.
During the summer, TOP says it went to protest in front of the new management company’s Austin headquarters. Achieve Properties tells KENS 5 the complex was already in disrepair when they bought the property in November.
“These past three months of organizing have occurred after six or seven months of people alerting management of what their living conditions were,” Acuna said.
Seven Oaks is in the middle of a $2 million rehab project on all 254 apartment units.
In August, the city’s Building Standards Board issued fines against the property and asked repairs be done in the next three months.
Within 10 days, tenants in units having to use stairs and balconies had to be relocated to other units, and occupied units had to be inspected for smoke alarms, plumbing issues electrical hazards and AC.
Within 20 days, occupied units needed working AC, plumbing, electrical and smoke detectors. A 90-day inspection will be scheduled for the occupied units grounds, sidewalks, drains and roof.
Some of the penalties enforced were $1,000 per violation and a continuing civil penalty of $500 per day. According to Achieve Properties, all of those repairs are on schedule.
TOP claims that tenants were getting evicted “with little to no understanding of what was owed” but Achieve Properties says it is allowing residents with past-due balances to stay in their units.
Achieve is asking tenants with problems to submit work orders and call their 24-hour hotline at 210-750-3195.
The owners must appear before the building standards board every 30 days to provide a status update over the next three months.
Councilwoman Ana Sandoval’s office states they notified Code Compliance of the living conditions and temporarily housed tenants at a nearby motel, and joined the tenants during their protest at the property manager’s office in the summer.
“I was appalled by what I saw at Seven Oaks. The tenants of Seven Oaks — and tenants everywhere — deserve safe housing for them and their children. I’m committed to making sure nobody in San Antonio has to endure similar living conditions again,” a statement from Councilwoman Sandoval read.