Residents at the Saxony apartments in North Dallas say the apartment management once again shut off the water during the frigid temperatures like they did last winter.
A notice from management sent to residents and viewed by NBC 5 said the apartments began shutting off the building’s water for several hours overnight as a preventative measure.
Around the same time last year, The Dallas Express reported that the apartment complex was left without running water for at least two nights after a similar shutoff, intended to help avoid bursting pipes when temperatures drop below freezing.
“As a result of the extreme cold temperatures which Dallas is currently experiencing, we have taken precautionary measures to try and limit our residents’ apartments from flooding due to broken pipes,” said Moche Earls, Saxony apartment’s director of compliance, about the latest shutoff, per NBC.
Frozen pipes can result in flooding and severe damage. During last January’s cold snap, for example, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office could not perform autopsies due to frozen pipes.
Despite the negative media attention the move garnered last year, the complex again moved to cut resident water access. However, the City of Dallas says water cannot be shut off unless apartment management is actively involved in repairs that would justify the move.
Texas law is similar, though it mentions water can be turned off during an emergency.
“A landlord or a landlord’s agent may not interrupt or cause the interruption of utility service paid for directly to the utility company by a tenant unless the interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency,” per the Texas State Law Library.
“They sent an email yesterday they out at 3:50 saying it would be off from 11 to six and it would continue through Wednesday… I was frustrated because I thought this was solved last year. It’s against code. They’re not allowed to do it and yet they’re continuing to do it so clearly, they didn’t learn their lesson,” said resident Megan Thompsen.