Jasmine Snow
2 months ago
"As a software engineer working in the social impact space, advocating for racial equality is a personal and professional priority for me. Unfortunately, my family has been subjected to clear patterns of discrimination and harassment from our upstairs neighbor since moving in, with no support from the main Manager.
My family relocated to The Woodlands from California, where we rented a 2-bed, 2-bath apartment on the first floor. Shortly after moving in, we took a two-month trip for the holidays. During that time, I received multiple calls from management accusing us of smoking inside our apartment (3). This was alarming since we were out of town, and I offered to provide proof of our travels multiple times. However, the baseless accusations persisted.
Upon returning, the harassment from our neighbor escalated. My husband has been subjected to glaring stares, passive-aggressive behavior, and an incident where the police were called without cause. Additionally, our neighbor dumped water down onto our front door while my husband was sitting outside, and her dog has urinated on her balcony, causing it to drip down near our front door and almost onto him. All of these incidents have been reported to management with videos, but no action has been taken.
Most recently, I received yet another note about smoking despite this issue having already been addressed multiple times. I have requested an apartment change due to growing concerns for our safety. Moving at this stage would be a huge inconvenience as I am now 40 weeks pregnant, but we fear for our well-being if this situation continues without resolution.
I have made multiple attempts to contact the manager, including five emails and three phone calls since August 29th, but my requests have been completely ignored. I also have email tracking that shows one of my emails was viewed as early as August but was never responded to.
When our neighbor complains, we immediately receive calls or notes on our door, yet management doesn’t even track or note that they've already contacted us numerous times about the same baseless accusations. I find it odd and concerning that, despite their quick action on our neighbor's complaints, I have been trying to reach the manager since August 29th and haven’t received a single call back.
There have also been times where my husband, while sitting outside, has been stared at by the neighbor, and shortly after, the maintenance staff would pull up in their cart, look at him, and then leave without explanation. This adds to the ongoing sense of being unfairly monitored and harassed.
Under the Fair Housing Act, I am entitled to live in an environment free from discrimination and harassment, and it is the legal obligation of the property management to ensure this. The repeated lack of response from management not only violates this but also creates a hostile living environment for my family. The ongoing emotional distress, compounded by the unresponsiveness of management, has placed immense strain on us during an already vulnerable time.
I will be forced to consider further legal options if this issue is not addressed immediately. I am formally requesting that corporate investigate the handling of this issue and ensure that it is handled appropriately by the management team. Racial discrimination and harassment should never be tolerated, especially within a community where residents should feel safe and supported.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding the next steps."