Leaking faucets, holes in the floor, and rats running across children's feet at night.  An apartment manager refusing to start repairs without proof of US citizenship.  These are just some of the conditions that leaders of Bachman Lake apartments, like Iris Romo and Ericka Ventura, unearthed in a neighborhood conversation campaign.

When tenant leaders at Lumin Bachman Lake Community School began to share these stories, the city didn't take them seriously.  However, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) leaders knew that this was unacceptable.  After all, they had been instrumental in the development of housing standards that were now being violated. In 2016, DAI had compelled the City of Dallas to impose these standards, and the tenant leaders had been a key part of that effort.

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[Excerpt]

Reporting bad landlords who won’t fix apartments to maintain adequate living conditions should be easier for Dallas tenants, especially for those who are the most vulnerable because of their economic or immigration status.

It has been a little over a month since this newspaper reported the hazardous conditions endured by Bachman Lake-area tenants, including moldy walls, pest infestations and leaky roofs. This is not a case of “they get what they pay for.” Residents said they are paying up to $1,400 a month, close to the rent average in the Dallas area.

For these tenants, most of them with limited English skills, navigating the city’s bureaucracy to report code violations has been frustrating. They said they rarely see results. “We are not living for free; we are paying,” Bachman Lake resident [and Dallas Area Interfaith leader] Claudia Cruz, 38, told us.

Bachman Lake Tenants Need Support, Dallas Morning News [pdf]

Inquilinos de Dallas Denuncian Malas Condiciones en Viviendas, Telemundo Dallas

After forcing a runoff election in May, 20 DAI leaders each turned out 20 voters, primarily in the Bachman Lake area near San Juan Diego Catholic Church.

Former Mayor Pro Tem Monica Alonzo, who waited until the day before the election to support Dallas Area Interfaith's agenda in support of affordable housing and early childhood education, lost the runoff by 291 votes - the largest margin of three runoff races that day.

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300 residents of District 6 assembled to grill city council candidates in a impoverished region of Dallas where only 800 votes were cast in the previous election. The nonpartisan accountability assembly was organized around issues leaders have been working on over the course of the year, including affordable housing, early education, an upcoming city bond and improvements to the 311 system.

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