Renter goes months without hot water at Pasadena apartment complex

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- Rodents, raw sewage, and months without hot water are what one tenant says she's been dealing with at her Pasadena apartment complex.

After submitting multiple repair requests, Kimberly Esquivel says the problems remained. That's when she reached out to ABC13 for help.

"Last winter, I didn't have any hot water, and this winter, again, I don't have any hot water. But the sewage has always been there," Esquivel explained.

Esquivel says the lack of hot water has been an ongoing issue where she lives at The Pointe Apartments in Pasadena. This time around, she says it was just before Thanksgiving when no hot water would come out of her faucets.

"I have still not had hot water to wash my body nor my dishes. Again, I am requesting that you fix it immediately because I believe this condition constitutes a threat to my safety," Esquivel said.

She says she made multiple requests for this to be fixed, including two hand-delivered letters, but kept getting the run around from management.

"They said, 'Oh well, wait for the manager to be here, come tomorrow.' Well, I am tired of going tomorrow. 'Oh, we need to order a part; it's going to take a week.' Well, that's what y'all told me last time. How many times are you going to buy a part?" Esquivel explained.

The hot water is a huge inconvenience, but she's also dealing with mice, and you can see raw sewage in several places around the complex.

"In some places, there's dried toilet paper, and it's just dried up to where it doesn't come out anymore," Esquivel said.

The Pointe is owned by Excel Property Management. They also own Creekside Apartments in Dickinson. We told you about the problems there in December. Residents at that complex also went several months without hot water before the city issued an order to vacate due to unsafe conditions.

Within hours of ABC13 contacting the owner of The Pointe, some repairs were made, and Esquivel was able to take her first hot shower in her apartment in months.

Still, not all repairs have been made. She still needs hot water in her kitchen or bathroom sink.

As far as the raw sewage all over the place, the owner of the complex told ABC13 they are in the process of making some major plumbing repairs that will fix that problem.

If you are a renter and have a concern you would like us to look into, head to ABC13.com/RentersRights and fill out the form with as much detail as possible. You can also call the Renters' Rights line at 713-663-4548.

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