SPRING, Texas – A Spring area family dealing with severe medical issues is now on the brink of homelessness. This comes after they say their property manager told them they have to leave because their daughter accidentally started a small fire that was immediately put out by the sprinkler system.
This is all happening at the Waterstone Apartments on Old Holzwarth Road.
The lawyer KPRC 2′s Deven Clarke spoke to says there is a strict legal process that a landlord must go through in order to force a tenant out. The tenants in this case say that hasn’t happened and on top of that they’re being kicked out because of baseless claims.
“One thing after another, after another,” said Benji Mercado.
The last few months have been rocky for Mercado and his family. The most serious issue involves his six-year-old daughter, who just underwent a series of brain surgeries last month and is still in the hospital.
“They told us it was a six centimeter mass that was pressing against, that was stopping the fluid draining from her brain,” he said.
At the Waterstone apartment home where Mercado says the family has lived since August and has already needed to put in multiple maintenance requests, things took a turn for the worst on March 24. It’s when his 13-year-old daughter tried to make something to eat.
“It was just a simple pot that got too hot next to a bag of chicken nuggets that she was making,” he said.
Mercado says a small fire broke out and the unit’s sprinkler system put it out before firefighters got there. Later, they got a Termination Notice Due to Natural Disaster or Catastrophe. It states they have to leave by April 2, citing damage so extensive the unit is unusable.
“We did take full responsibility for it, having our renters insurance cover everything but now being told the apartments unlivable when it’s just a stove top and a microwave?” He said.
A Spring Fire Department incident report states only minor damage was found and air quality was completely normal. The fire marshal’s office which inspected the unit told KPRC 2 if they were to find it unlivable, no one would’ve been allowed inside.
When KPRC 2 brought that to the property managers attention, he didn’t want to go on camera. but said that after conferring with their insurance its been determined the tenants are a liability and they are exercising their right to assume possession of the unit.
Dana Karni, Litigation Director with Lonestar legal Aid weighs in.
“They are not required to leave until and unless there’s a court order telling them they’re required to leave,” she said.
Karni adds there’s also a right to an appeals process that must be carried out.
Mercado, who says he’s not received a court ordered eviction notice tells KPRC 2, he’s not going to wait for one. He says he’s so fed up with the situation he’s going to move into a hotel until they can find permanent housing.
He has sought free assistance from Lonestar Legal Aid.
Any tenants dealing with issues who are looking for free legal assistance can visit their website.