TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — A Temple apartment complex had its water cut off for two hours before the complex paid the bill. Here's what you can do.
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A viewer sent 25News' Bobby Poitevint a photo of the courtesy notice from the City of Temple letting residents at Holly Oak Apartments know that their water could be shut off due to non-payment by the company.
We checked with the city and they confirmed the water was cut off for two hours before they received payment.
It's unknown how many residents were impacted by this cutoff.
Our first thought was about the residents and what power -- if any -- do they have in a situation like this. We turned to the Greater Waco Legal Service to find out.
“If that does happen, you do have options" said Jessica Trevino.
She is the Medical Legal Partnership staff attorney with GWLS.
Recommendations from GWLS
- Pay the bill yourself — make sure to keep the receipt because you can get that amount taken off your rent.
- You can terminate your lease — you have to give written notice and move out within 30 days of when you get the notice of a potential cut-off - that’s important to know.
- Legal action — you might actually be able to sue your landlord, especially if you were impacted in some negative way - but it’s important to document all of this and basically show proof of how you were negatively impacted.
“So it’s really important to act quickly because if the landlord does provide written notice that they’ve paid off the fee you may not be able to exorcise these remedies," she said.
You can also cite this Texas Property Code Section 92.301 if your landlord gives you any hassle.
We’ve also reached out to apartment leadership for comment.
