Officials in the City of Orange said they had checked out the complex, but claimed it was not their pipe and it was the complex’s responsibility to fix it.
Orange, Texas — A woman in Orange speaks out and claims she’s been living without water in her apartment for three weeks.
A resident said her water stopped working on Christmas Eve when an arctic cold front hit southeastern Texas. She said she was losing her patience.
“That means I can’t clean my fridge, I can’t cook, I can’t cook for my family,” she said.
The resident has asked 12News not to release his name or face for fear of retaliation from management of Sabine Park Apartment Homes.
“I can’t clean my house,” she said. “I have a service animal and I have to get water for him.
Officials in the City of Orange said they had checked out the complex, Claim It’s not their pipe and it’s the complex’s responsibility to fix it.
The city told 12News that the complex had been notified that it was up to them to fix it.
“We spoke with the property manager,” said the resident. “Yes, I was told they would fix it, but I mean, there are 45 people out there who have kids who depend on it. You have to do something.”
Almost 20 units in the complex appear to have had no water for the past three weeks.
12News tried to speak to a manager on site Tuesday, but no one was in the office.
When 12News reached out to the manager by phone, she declined to comment on the timeline for when the water is back on or if residents might see a pay cut during that time.
12News was referred to an Arkansas-based company called Trinity Multifamily, but they have not responded to our calls or emails.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s website, renters have the right to demand that their landlord repair any issues that affect their physical health and safety. But the wait is getting harder and harder for renters living without water.
“Moving to another apartment would be breaking the lease, and I can’t afford to do that,” the resident said. “These other apartment complexes want to charge 1,000, 800, 900. I can’t afford that.”
Maintenance personnel were working at the site on Tuesday, but it’s unclear if it was related to the water outage.
“Terrible. Terrible. No one should have to live like this,” said the woman.
12News will update this article as soon as we receive comments from Sabine Park Apartment Homes or Trinity Multifamily.
