'This Isn't Right,' Thousands Of Garland Renters Still Without Running Water
GARLAND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Thousands of Garland renters are still without running water and some say every day the situation is getting worse.
"I finally had my melt down last night," Shomonda Jones said. "I have asked for temporary housing since the beginning of this. There needs to be a resolution from the property."
Jones hasn't had a proper shower and said carrying buckets of water to her apartment every day has her worried about her heart condition.
"I nearly fainted yesterday carrying up buckets - five gallon bucket," she said. "My cardiologist says you should not be doing that. That's too much pressure on your heart. This isn't right. This isn't fair."
It's the reality many renters are facing in Garland, where more than two dozen complexes are reporting broken pipes and plumbing issues.
"I'm pregnant right now," one tenant said. "There's no running water. We're having to go to the bathrooms in bags and bring our waste to the trash cans."
In an effort to help, the City of Garland is providing donated water bottles to tenants and today set up 36 porta potties at nine of the affected complexes.
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas said if you do find yourself in this situation you can provide written notice of the problems you're experiencing, requesting repairs. Provide pictures if possible and send the letter to your landlord or property management through certified mail if you can. Keep a copy for yourself.
Then give them a reasonable amount of time to initiate repairs, which depending on the severity of the issue is usually around seven days. If nothing is done, you have the right to end your lease or sue the landlord for repairs in court.
But there is one thing you have to continue to do.
"The tenant has a duty to pay rent and the landlord's obligation to make repairs is triggered after the tenant's duty," attorney Huma Yasin said.
Jones said this is something she's looking into.
