CYPRESS – A Cypress mother of two was evicted from her apartment complex while waiting for rental assistance.
Krystal Lux is now homeless.
“I pull up to my apartment, and all of my things were outside,” Lux said.
The mother of two says the Carrington at Barker Cypress put her furniture and her all belongings outside Wednesday and changed the locks.
“This ain’t right,” she said. “This is just not right at all. I know if I was in their shoes I would wait for the money. It’s still coming.”
Lux said she has been behind on rent since the start of the year due to losing her job.
“I was working in childcare, and that childcare facility went out of business and went bankrupt,” she said.
Lux said she was encouraged to apply for rental assistance for the months of January through August through Harris County. As of Thursday, her rental assistance status is still pending.
She said her apartment complex had agreed to wait on the county funding but went back on their word last week by giving her an eviction notice.
“Because it wasn’t Texas Rental Assistance, we don’t accept Harris County Rental Assistance,” Lux said she was told. “In my mind, money is money, right?”
The apartment complex sent KPRC2 a statement saying, in part:
“We have made and continue to make every effort to assist our residents in applying for any local and federal rent relief available to them during this unprecedented time.”
KPRC 2 confirmed that the property is not enrolled in the county’s emergency rental assistance program and does not need to be for the tenant’s rent to get paid. A county spokesperson said if a landlord chooses not to participate, the tenant can be processed as a direct-aid client in which case they need to submit their lease and proof of payment before the pandemic.
Lux and her two children are currently staying with a friend. She said she does not know what’s next.
The full statement from the Carrington at Barker Cypress apartment complex:
“We cannot comment on any issue related to a Waterton resident. Waterton continues to abide by the eviction moratoria set by the CDC, and when the resident protection is greater, the standards set by select states and municipalities. In addition, we have made and continue to make every effort to assist our residents in applying for any local and federal rent relief available to them during this unprecedented time.”