HOUSTON – A Houston woman says the home built for her as part of the Hurricane Harvey recovery effort is riddled with structural issue—so much so, she still hasn’t moved in six months after it was completed.
Cher Dawson’s house was rebuilt through the Homeowner Assistance Program, a state and city-led initiative to reconstruct homes damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
But Dawson says the home she received in Nov. 2024 is not the one she was promised.
“I was looking forward to the home being built similar to my previous home, but built more resilient,” Dawson said. “This is not the home that I signed for.”
She says the project moved too fast, demolished in early October and declared complete by mid-November.
“From seven to eight structural engineers I stated, that was too fast,” she told KPRC 2.
Now, Dawson says, cracks in the foundation and structural supports are only getting worse.
“The cracks began on these different little wood pylons here… It gets worse every month,” she said. “That side you see not only the cracks larger, but you see the splinting of the engineered wood.”
She adds that mold is also a concern especially since she and her son had to leave their previous home due to mold-related health issues.
“The home’s supposed to be mold resistant. Isn’t this mold forming here?” she asked, pointing to a part of her outdoor stairs. “The track inspection that I had done on my own already is showing moisture inside of the home.”
Despite months of emails—with more than 50 recipients including the governor’s office, city officials, and the Texas General Land Office—Dawson says her concerns have been ignored.
“Why are you all continuing to ignore the elders’ issues in the community—somebody like me with a disability?” she said. “This is not the city money, this is not the state money. This is your taxpayer dollars… this is everyone’s taxpayer dollars being misused.”
City officials from Public Works and the Department of Neighborhoods visited Dawson’s property.
A city spokesperson said inspectors did not find any visible signs of structural failure at Dawson’s home and confirmed there were no emergency issues, or 311 service calls associated with the other addresses provided.
They added that while the city enforces code compliance, it does not oversee ADA adherence, which falls under the state’s jurisdiction.
In a statement to KPRC 2, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) defended the condition of Dawson’s home, saying it “has passed multiple inspections both before and after the home was completed including by the city’s inspector, a TREC inspector, and GLO’s Manager of Construction Quality Assurance.”
The GLO said its team visited the site in January and reviewed the photos Dawson provided.
“The splits in question are hairline and fall within the category of normal wood hairline cracks for wood pylons,” the spokesperson stated.
According to the GLO, “wood pylons expand and contract, resulting in normal hairline cracks, which have no effect on the structural integrity of the pier and beam foundation.”
The agency added that the pier and beam construction used in the home was “professionally designed and engineered” to withstand such conditions.
The agency also pushed back on Dawson’s claim that the home is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“As has been communicated to Ms. Dawson previously, the new home includes a 48” wide wheelchair-accessible ramp that connects her secondary entrance to a 20’ x 5’ parking pad. Her home meets ADA rules and regulations and is considered compliant,” the statement said.
The GLO emphasized the broader success of its program.
“The Homeowner Assistance Program has worked diligently to rebuild more than 2,500 homes that are safe, energy efficient, and resilient against future storms for Houston and Harris County families. Overall, more than 9,000 Texan families have had their homes rebuilt by the GLO since Hurricane Harvey,” the agency said.
Still, Dawson believes her experience shows the system isn’t working for everyone.
“You didn’t follow the guidelines,” she said. “How would you put something on paper for a resilient long-term plan and prevention of future disasters and then throw up something like this?”
General Land Office Statement:
“Ms. Dawson’s home has passed multiple inspections - both before and after the home was completed - including by the city’s inspector, a TREC inspector, and GLO’s Manager of Construction Quality Assurance. In January we reviewed the photos she provided and visited in person confirming the splits in question are hairline and fall within the category of normal wood hairline cracks for wood pylons.
Wood pylons expand and contract resulting in normal hairline cracks, which have no effect on the structural integrity of the pier and beam foundation. Pier and beam construction uses 12 or 14 inch square pylons and the placement and amount are determined by an engineer to meet the requirements for the size of the home. Timber pier and beam construction is professionally designed and engineered to account for this standard hairline cracking to ensure the structural integrity is maintained.
As for the claim the home is not ADA compliance, this is false. As has been communicated to Ms. Dawson previously, the new home includes a 48” wide wheelchair-accessible ramp that connects her secondary entrance to a 20’ x 5’ parking pad. The parking pad is connected to the sidewalks in the easement outside of her property line. Her home meets ADA rules and regulations and is considered compliant.
The GLO’s Homeowner Assistance Program has worked diligently to rebuild more than 2,500 homes that are safe, energy efficient that are resilient against future storms for Houston and Harris County families. Overall, more than 9,000 Texan families have had their homes rebuilt by the GLO since Hurricane Harvey. These homes meet all state, local, and federal standards for home construction and are inspected by multiple trained inspectors prior to construction completion."