Questions arise on who's responsible for $75K wall damage in NW Harris Co. neighborhood by May storm

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Almost five months after the May storm, an eight-foot-tall wall running alongside homes in a northwest Harris County neighborhood still hasn't been repaired.

The wall runs along Mauna Loa Lane and the southern border of homeowner Ron Hale's property.

The May 16 storm knocked down one of Hale's trees, which, in turn, brought down a portion of the wall.

"My backdoors are basically open to the street," Hale said.

Hale, who purchased the property two years ago, was always under the impression it was a community wall since it also runs along the perimeter of another home.

"An HOA board member had stopped by and told me that the HOA had insurance on the walls, that I needed to contact the HOA, and that they would deal with stuff," Hale said.

When the Windfern Gardens Civic Improvement Association didn't take care of the wall, Hale filed his own claim with the association's insurance company on July 2.

But in August, he was informed that the HOA had withdrawn the claim.

An attorney representing the HOA didn't return Eyewitness News' request for comment.

But in a letter to Hale dated Aug. 12, the attorney claims that the wall doesn't belong to the HOA and isn't their responsibility.

"They're saying that residents own the walls. That residents own all the walls," Hale said.

Apparently, not all of the walls. Eyewitness News obtained agreements the HOA made with multiple homeowners in 2019, which state that the HOA is responsible for maintaining another wall that runs along Gessner.

Neither the tax assessor's office, the appraisal district, nor the county's engineering department could definitively say who owns the wall along Hale's home.

It would cost just over $75,000 to replace, and since Hale says he doesn't have homeowners' insurance, he would have to pay out of pocket.

He's particularly worried about a section of leaning wall, fearing it's only a matter of time before it comes crashing down.

"There's bus stops at every corner, and there's always kids walking by," he said.

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