What rights do renters have following a natural disaster?

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After a natural disaster, what rights do renters have? Max Perez reached out to to find out.

On Friday, Perez’s roof was still entangled in the large ash tree in front of his apartment at Northwest Corners in Spring Branch.

“You feel bad because you lost everything,” he said.

His apartment is now filled with glass and debris, with a gaping hole in the ceiling.

Concerned for their safety, Perez sent his two children to stay with friends.

“I was scared. I just wanted to save my kids’ lives,” he explained.

However, Perez stayed in the apartment for a week after the storm because he was told by apartment management that leaving would break his lease. He shared audio of that conversation with ABC13.

“(Management) told me you can call the police, you can call the government, you can call the FBI, and nobody’s gonna help you,” Perez said.

According to the Eviction Defense Coalition, a non-profit tenants rights group, Perez would technically be breaking his lease. However, since the storm made his unit uninhabitable, a “casualty loss,” any penalties typically associated with breaking the lease would be voided.

Simply telling tenants they are “breaking their lease” could be a way to pressure them into staying in a lease they are legally entitled to break without penalty.

“An act of God has happened, and something terrible has gone wrong, and now your place is uninhabitable. There is a law that says you, as the tenant, don’t have to stay there anymore,” explained Eric Kwartler from the Eviction Defense Coalition.

Kwartler advised tenants in similar situations to notify their complex in writing, preferably via certified mail, that they are terminating the lease.

“Say, ‘I’m out. I’m done. This place is uninhabitable. I’m finding a new place to live,'” Kwartler advised.

The Perez family sent a letter to the complex management on Friday and began packing.

ABC13 asked the president of Perez’s property management group if tenants in uninhabitable units were informed of their right to break their leases without penalty. He responded that it was in the lease, and it was the tenants’ responsibility to know.

“Everybody has access to the internet. I would say most everybody has access to the internet,” said Rajib Batabyal, president of the Monument Property Group.

“There are some rights that landlords have to notify their tenants about. This is not one of them,” Kwartler added.

Perez’s neighbor, Estella Lopez, also had the roof torn off her unit. She said her husband asked to be relocated but was told there was a wait.

Exposure to the elements has led to mold inside the unit she shares with seven family members, including her two infant grandchildren.

“It’s hard to breathe,” she said, noting that the whole family had been coughing.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire criticized conditions at the complex and several others throughout the city, saying his office was investigating “possible criminal liability.”

City Attorney Arturo Michel told that a housing inspector had been sent to assess the site. Depending on the findings, Michel said they might shut it down.

“Good. Hopefully, we can get some help,” Lopez said.