The Houston Housing Authority says the Clayton Homes government housing complex has nearly 100 units that are beyond repair following Harvey.
The authority announced Thursday high levels of mold and E. coli bacteria have been found in the units.
“If I don’t find something, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said resident Victoria Davis. "I’m pretty much homeless.”
Davis is among the many residents displaced from the complex following the floods.
She took KHOU 11 News inside of her flooded unit where the overpowering smell only allowed for a short visit.
Mold is growing on walls and debris from the bayou waters line the corners of the unit.
Many of the displaced Clayton Homes residents were granted Section-8 housing vouchers to be used toward new rentals, but residents like Davis say it is not that easy.
Davis says many landlords refuse to rent to low-income residents receiving government assistance. Combined with the fact Houston is suffering from a dearth of low-income housing options, many displaced residents may have to look outside of the Houston area to find places to live.
“It’s just hard,” Davis said. “Everything was pretty much destroyed.”
The flooded units at the Clayton Homes complex will not be restored, said the president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority. Tory Gunsolley said the I-45 expansion project expected to break ground in the next few years had the complex already slated for demolition.
Gunsolley said it would not be cost effective to fix the damaged apartments just to have them torn down in the near future.
The flooded apartment units have remained accessible to residents since Hurricane Harvey even though they currently pose health threats.