SAN ANTONIO — Taking cold showers and boiling excess amounts of water on the stove top are common practices these days for Peter Garcia.
Tenants of the Ascent at Medical apartments are wondering when hot water will return after waiting a month for management to fully resolve the boiler blunder.
“A pretty frustrating situation having to deal with the shift between having to take cold showers and the heat out right now. It affects kind of your immune system, makes you a little sick some times,” Garcia said.
Residents learned of the issue during the first week of September. But any formal announcement by management didn’t come until the 9th when Garcia opened an email with an explanation and a plea for patience. While management has provided intermittent updates, Garcia’s not convinced enough is being done to immediately fix the problem.
“I’d say that there is some level of transparency with management but that it seems like they’re dragging their feet knowing that there isn’t that much pushback,” Garcia said.
KENS 5 called on-site apartment management for comment, but their verbal reply was “No comment.”
The City of San Antonio has been aware of the water issues at the Ascent apartments since early September after multiple residents called 311 to complain.
“We have been working with them since early Sept. for the boilers. The apartment complex was built in early 1970’s and has 2 boilers. One has been repaired. The second one is not. We were out there last week and issued a $300 citation with a court date of 11/7,” said Ximena Copa-Wiggins, public relations manager with San Antonio’s Development Services Department.
The Texas property code (state statutes 92.02, 92.56, 92.0561) breaks down what tenants can do in scenarios where landlords fail to promptly address repair issues that impact physical health or safety.
“A landlord is required to keep service of hot water at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit at all times. If the landlord is not doing that, the tenant does have a right to seek redress under the repair rights of the Texas property code and it sounds like in this situation they’ve also contacted the city of the town that they’re living in and reported it to code compliance,” said Genevieve Fajardo, clinical law professor at St. Mary’s University.
Fajardo stressed for tenants to know they cannot withhold rent just because there’s a repair problem in the apartment.
Texas property code states when landlords don’t make repairs according to law, tenants have a variety of options to consider including filing action through the Justice of the Peace Courts, terminate lease or ensure repair costs are deducted from rent.
Garcia decided coming forward was important to serve as a voice for the tenants who aren’t fluent in English, since many of the families come from the Middle East. He noted apartment management has provided emailed updates in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Meanwhile, Garcia is faced with rising utility bills since the hot water conundrum first started.
“The average water bill that we had before was about 40 dollars and now it’s about $80-$90,” Garcia said.
He’s already looking forward to the New Year, even when and if the water woes evaporate.
“I will be ending my lease and looking for a new apartment complex.”
To learn more about Texas tenant rights, go here.