MESA, AZ — A part of Mesa is months away from getting back to normal. Nearly two weeks ago, a storm and high winds damaged homes and uprooted lives.
In a matter of moments, people were displaced from their homes.
“I remember the sound of a train coming at me,” said Darlenna Petitta.
Petitta had a thick, years-old tree fall on her home. That led to hours without power, drywall damage, and the A/C unit on her house was dented, but thankfully it still works, for now.
After all that, Petitta still feels she and her home were spared by mother nature.
“I know we were right in the middle of the storm,” she told ABC15.
At the house next door, Antonia Resendez says she was cooking when a roof from another building shattered through the window of her daughter’s room.
She says firefighters told her that night, the roof may not be secure. She tells ABC15, she's been living with family members since July 26, the night of the storm.
She says the power went out that night and has yet to come back on.
“We haven’t seen any solutions,” she said in Spanish.
She says the property manager’s one-time cash offer wouldn’t suffice in the long term.
ABC15 did not immediately hear back from the property manager when we reached out multiple times on Monday.
The Let Joe Know team at ABC15 has done countless stories on renters’ rights.
The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act says if the problem is materially affecting health and safety, the landlord has five days to address the problem, but renters have to give official notice.
If the problem is not an immediate danger, renters have to give the landlord 10 days to make it right. If there’s still no action, let the landlord know your plan to terminate your lease, and take lots of pictures.
The last piece of advice from our Let Joe Know team – never withhold rent.
For more information, visit the state’s community legal services under the Arizona Department of Housing.
