HOUSTON \u2013 From broken air conditioning to pest infestations\u2014and even reports of gunfire outside their doors\u2014some Houston apartment tenants say they\u2019ve been living in unsafe and unlivable conditions for years.<\/p>\n
Now, city leaders are considering a new ordinance that could crack down on the highest risk apartment complexes across Houston.<\/p>\n
At an apartment complex in the Braeburn area, tenants say problems persisted for years before new management stepped in.<\/p>\n
Ade Adewinke has lived at the complex near South Gessner and Braeswood for about six years. He says conditions under previous management were difficult to endure.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo hot water, no AC, roaches, maintenance problems, gang violence, shooting every night,\u201d Adewinke said.<\/p>\n
Adewinke said the issues became so severe that he tried to move out\u2014but couldn\u2019t afford to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m making is not enough for me to move,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He says many residents felt stuck, forced to deal with ongoing issues because they had limited housing options.<\/p>\n
City data shows there have been more than 130 calls to Houston\u2019s 311 system tied to the complex since May 2024\u2014an average of about one complaint every five days.<\/p>\n
According to city leaders, complaints made through 311 can sometimes be misrouted to different departments, causing delays in response and resolution.<\/p>\n
That concern is part of what\u2019s driving a proposed ordinance backed by several council members, including Letitia Plummer.<\/p>\n
If approved, the ordinance would create a High-Risk Apartment Inspection Program aimed at identifying and improving the city\u2019s most troubled complexes.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal:<\/p>\n
Multifamily apartment complexes with three or more units could be flagged as \u201chigh-risk\u201d <\/p>\n
Properties would be identified based on high volumes of 3-1-1 complaints and verified safety or health violations <\/p>\n
Once labeled high-risk, complexes would be required to: <\/p>\n
Failure to comply could result in fines ranging from $250 to $2,000 per violation, per day.<\/p>\n
Supporters say the ordinance would shift Houston away from relying solely on tenant complaints\u2014and toward a more proactive system that forces accountability.<\/p>\n
Adewinke says conditions at his complex have improved since new management took over last year, with upgrades and better maintenance.<\/p>\n
Still, he believes the ordinance could help protect renters across the city, especially those who may not have the ability to move elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will really help us as renters. You want to come home and relax and not worry about anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that renters who consistently pay their rent deserve safe living conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you pay your rent all the time, you have the right to live. You don\u2019t have to worry about it,\u201d said Adewinke.<\/p>\n
Houston City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance Wednesday.<\/p>\n
According to the city, inspectors receive about 3,300 to 3,600 311 complaints each year. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 From broken air conditioning to pest infestations\u2014and even reports of gunfire outside their doors\u2014some Houston apartment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[103520,103517,56,4626,58,57,103519,103518],"class_list":["post-280793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-311-complaints-apartments","tag-apartment-ordinance","tag-houston","tag-houston-city-council","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-rental-safety","tag-houston-renter-protection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}