Residents relocated after rundown Crestmont Village closes for good

A rundown southeast Houston apartment complex owned by slumlords has been completely shut down. Nearly 200 residents were moved out Friday.

The residents were relocated after the city announced it would shut down the Crestmont Village Apartments at 5638 Selinsky Road.

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"No one should have to live like this," said Mayor Annise Parker.  "We know this is not the only deplorable apartment complex which has eroded due to irresponsible ownership.  We are determined to make sure that all of our associated costs are reimbursed by the owners. The City's response here provides a blueprint to apply to other apartment complexes which are doing a disservice to their tenants, and gives us a plan to head off a crisis before it exists."

Last month, the complex owners left residents in the dark after refusing to pay the power bill.  The city stepped in, restoring power and even bringing in food and other essentials to people living there.  They took the landlord to court, and successfully got the court to shut down the apartments.

The project was complicated by the fact that many of the residents are on limited income, lack identification, have criminal backgrounds, bad credit or previous evictions, a press release from the city read.

The city has turned off all utilities and boarded up the building.