Residents at a Mesquite apartment complex reached out to NBC 5 saying they’ve been without heat and hot water for weeks.
Neighbor Vincent Bledsoe said he moved into the Tradewind Apartments near Highway 80 four months ago and has yet to have reliable utilities.
“Didn’t have any hot water at all unless we heat it on the stove,” Bledsoe said. “[We] ain’t ever had no heat on the bottom floor. Upstairs works alright, but the bottom floor doesn’t work at all.”
That includes when temperatures plunged well below freezing for days in mid-January.
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“We never got the heat on,” Bledsoe said.
The apartment's online reviews show similar complaints from residents including one person writing the hot water has been off for more than a month and the heat for three weeks.
A response from the property management team below the post said their team is working on the issue.
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NBC 5 reached out to the Houston-based owners, KPM Property Management, but have yet to receive a response.
The city of Mesquite is aware of the ongoing problems.
“We are very concerned with what’s going on with the residents,” said Mesquite City Manager Cliff Keheley.
Keheley said city inspectors have been visiting the complex for more than two weeks, writing daily citations with fines exceeding hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He said the city was first notified of utility issues after the complex lost power when the region experienced snow and ice on MLK Day.
“The apartment complex has been making repairs but it’s a very old system and the repairs they make just don’t hold,” Keheley said.
This week the city entered into a repair agreement with the owners requiring them to move residents somewhere with heat and hot water by Friday or ultimately face legal action.
He said residents should continue to file any complaints with apartment management but encouraged them to speak with city workers conducting inspections on the property.
“When we have inspectors out and they’re knocking on doors it’d be helpful if they could talk to us and explain what the situation is so we get a better understanding,” Keheley said.
