DALLAS — Tenants at Meadows at Ferguson in northeast Dallas held a press conference with the support of Texas Organizing Project (TOP) Friday to demand immediate action to address the "deplorable and unsafe living conditions" they said they've been dealing with for "far too long."
Families told WFAA that apartment units already struggled with rat and gnat infestations, water leaks and mold. Their units were made further uninhabitable, they said, by storm damage from the last week of May.
A building at Meadows at Ferguson lost brick and wood from an exterior wall during the severe weather May 28. Nearly a month later, bricks and debris lay on the ground where it first fell.
Brittany Williams lives in a first floor unit with her five children, which was directly impacted by the storms.
Williams' bedroom is on the other side of the immediate damage. Her bedroom is exposed to the outside elements, with rain or shine making its way into the unit, covering her furniture and clothes.
"My kids are suffering," Williams said.
Williams' unit has a large hole in the ceiling, a rat infestation, mold, and holes in her wall. She told WFAA she cannot afford to move her children elsewhere. She said the damage has upended her life and financial situation.
“Whenever it rains, it still comes in through my bedroom and my closet," Williams said.
According to tenants and the Texas Organizing Project (TOP), maintenance requests, calls to the complex, and even a demand letter has not been enough to get anything fixed.
In their letter, tenants requested immediate relocation assistance to include moving costs, food expenses, security deposits for tenants who have not been relocated, and two months of housing assistance. They also demanded their security deposit back, an apology and respectful treatment.
Tenant Wendy Davis said she broke her ankle after slipping in water from a leak outside her unit. Inside her apartment, she said, is a rat infestation and mold problem.
“We’re not supposed to live rat-infested. We’re not supposed to live gnat-infested. We’re not supposed to live with water leaks everywhere," Davis said. "We’re supposed to live like human beings.”
WFAA spoke to staff at the Meadows at Ferguson's leasing office. A spokesperson from the complex's management company, Key City Capital, spoke on a phone call. They said only the company CEO could answer questions about the tenant's living conditions.
Calls to the number provided by the spokesperson were not picked up or returned.
Texas Prop. Code 92.052, the “Warranty of Habitability” law in Texas, states landlords have a duty to repair conditions that affect the physical health and safety of ordinary tenants.
Williams said all she wants is a livable space, contractually and lawfully, hers.
"Have some respect to your tenants. We pay rent here," Williams said. "I pay rent faithfully, I’m never late.”