Freezing temperatures in Central Texas have precipitated a controversial preventive measure by some apartment complexes: shutting off water to avoid burst pipes. At the Townhomes at Double Creek in Round Rock, residents received notice of an impending water shutdown due to the anticipated cold snap. Concern mounts among tenants who rely on water for everyday needs. "My kids take showers, we have they use the restroom, we cook, we drink the water here," one anonymous resident said, expressing the anxieties of being without water while away at work, according to KXAN.
But the legality of such actions is in question. Under Texas state law, landlords are not allowed to cut off utilities without tenant consent unless there's an emergency, repair, or construction happening, according to a deputy director at Building and Strengthening Tenant Action, Mincho Jacob, reported by KUT News.
Similar steps were taken at the Croix condominium complex near UT Austin campus where management determined the water shutoff as an essential precaution. "We fear a repeat of two years ago," Paul Meisler, president of Pioneer Beck, recalling the 2021 freeze that wreaked havoc on plumbing systems. While taking such measures, legality still hangs in balance, and the current freeze might test the boundaries of what is considered by these landlords as extreme measures for extraordinary times, as per KUT News.
Some residents like Madison O'Neil, a UT Austin psychology student, see sense in the drastic measures considering the structural weaknesses of an old building she resides in. Planning, she "plans to fill up her bathtub with water, so she can flush the toilet later," she told KUT News.
