HOUSTON – People who live at the Cabo San Lucas apartments complex near the Gulf Freeway say broken mailboxes are nothing compared to them having to use flashlights to get around their moldy homes.
Plus, the residents claim they can’t cook or clean, and on top of all that, management seems to be turning a blind eye.
“It’s always been horrible,” said Deshar Harrold who is one of several tenants ringing the alarm about the living conditions.” The toilet as you can see, it’s messed up and you gotta use a string.”
Aside from massive holes that leak, tenants say sometimes they have no running water, and when they do, it’s cold.
Torrelya Carter lives in another building on the property.
“I have to run this (extension) chord all the way from inside of my home all the way down to the neighbors over here and use their power at the moment,” she said.
Residents say the electricity has been faulty for years, but the most recent outage couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“They cut off our lights Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving. Every single thing in my refrigerator is spoiled and if you open the door, you can smell the putrid smell coming out,” Carter said.
On top of that, she has three children, two with serious health conditions.
“It would not surprise me if he (youngest child) ends up in the emergency room tonight,” Carter said. “There’s air escaping out of his lungs every time he breathes so he needs the extra support, the extra breathing treatments. My daughter over here, she has autism and she uses adaptive technology to communicate.”
“Nobody should be treated the way we’re treated. I mean, it’s deplorable. They have no pest control and these apartments are infested. I mean, they don’t even take the gumption to try to help solve anything,” said another resident named Peggy Sanders.
Moreover, tenants say their rent has recently increased by hundreds of dollars without notice.
We tried speaking with Indio Management staff at the leasing office, but someone closed the blinds and locked the door.
People who feel they’re living under inhumane conditions can call 311 and the Houston Health Department to file complaints.