After Catastrophic Rainfall, East Dallas Apartment Tenants Claim Developer is Refusing to Address Flooding

• Tenants of a Lower Greenville complex say Monday’s rainfall damaged apartments and the developer is not assuming responsibility.

Tenants of an apartment complex in Dallas’ Lower Greenville say the developer and property manager are trying to not compensate anyone for damages related to Monday’s flooding. 

The ELE apartments, located on the 5700 block of Richmond Avenue, sustained flood damage during the Monday, Aug. 22, record-breaking rainstorm that soaked the region and caused widespread damage. Reported rainfall totaled 15.1 inches in East Dallas over a 24-hour period. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reported 9.1 inches of rain Monday. 

All first-floor units at The ELE flooded. The complex started taking residents July 22-29.

Thomas Coffee moved into the complex on Aug. 15 — less than a week before the flooding — and said he woke up to about an inch of water covering his apartment at 3 a.m. He said water was “everywhere” including the hallways of the building. 

The apartment management attempted to relocate him to a unit on the second floor, which he said had standing water. 

Coffee said the developer and property manager, Atlanta-based Rangewater Real Estate, is not assuming fault for any damages to personal items and are not reimbursing tenants. He added that his renter’s insurance will not cover his items since the event falls under a natural disaster. He says Rangewater suggested he contact FEMA. 

Coffee estimates personal damages totaling $8,000 to $10,000. He added the developers would pay for moving expenses and the first night in a hotel.

A second tenant, Taylor Shaw, moved in on Aug. 6 and said water “covered the entirety of the floor” in his first-floor unit. He also said his unit is partially underground and believes the developers should have known the inherent risks with these units. 

Another concern Shaw noted was the potentially contaminated water that poured into his apartment. He said the majority of the complex is still under construction, with final build-out not expected until potentially October. 

“This is not something I expected in a brand new apartment,” Shaw said, adding he estimates around $10,000 in personal damages. 

Following the flood, Shaw prepared an itemized list of all the items damaged and walked through his apartment with the property manager around 8 a.m. on Aug. 22. A restoration company arrived around 9-10 a.m. 

Shaw said he is being moved into a second-floor unit as part of a “temporary relocation.” Shaw added that the regional director said it is company policy to not reimburse residents for personal damage. 

“It boggles my mind why the developers try to fight us and take an antagonist position to us,” he said. 

Shaw, however, noted he hopes the two sides can come to a resolution as he wants to continue living at the complex. 

Calls to Rangewater Real Estate’s headquarters and regional director have not been returned.