Belton mother frustrated with apartment complex after years of unresolved safety hazards

BELTON, Texas (KWTX) - From rats and bedbugs, to a bathtub that doesn’t drain and a sink hanging off the wall, a single mother in Belton says she is fed up after a years long battle with her apartment complex Belle Oaks, which is funded by the federal government under Section 8.

She called KWTX to express her concerns for her family’s safety and health after years of unsolved issues, the tenant has chosen to keep her identity hidden due to fear of retaliation from management.

The single mother of five says she is beside herself as she watches the condition of her home worsen.

She says upon moving in, they had a repulsive bug and rat infestation. On top of that, there were holes in the wall from a previous tenant that were not fixed when she moved in.

The single mother says that over the last four years, problems have consumed her home and leaves her worried for her family’s safety, health and well-being.

She has tried relentlessly to have several concerns resolved, but to no avail.

“It’s completely off the wall, look,” she says as she holds up her sink that is disconnected from the wall, “They were like, ‘Oh, be patient, we’re gonna get to it,’ it’s been almost a year and it still looks like that,” she says about the communication with management to fix it.

But it is not just her apartment, she says you could pick one at random and see similar, if not worse, situations.

She says in her four years of living there that the complex has had a revolving door of managers and adds that the most recent one lacks professionalism and communication.

With most apartments containing the elderly or children, she says there should be a higher level of concern for creating a habitable home for tenants in a tough spot.

She says that her basic necessities should not be a luxury.

“If they don’t care about them, who is going to care? So, I just feel like we were wronged and I think I took as much as I can take. I’m not asking for anything extra, I just want the bare minimum to work,” she says.

KWTX was able to reach the apartment manager at Belle Oaks and she told us that they were recently bought by Reliant Realty based out of New York. The manager informed us that the real estate agency has come in to federal funding for the complex and will start remodeling within the next 18 months.

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