More than six residents at the Spanish Oak Inn apartment complex in Theodore reached out for help this week after they say the complex went without running water from Monday until Wednesday afternoon.
Residents said water service returned while a visitor was at the property Wednesday, but they described the water as still cold and appearing dirty. Every resident interviewed asked to remain anonymous, citing concerns about retaliation from management.
One resident said tenants were initially given one explanation for the outage but were never able to get clear answers from the front office.
“For about three days now, we’ve been without any water. We were initially told that it was due to a pipe being busted, but obviously we now know that’s not the case. And when anyone tries to call the front office, there is no response,” the resident said.
Basic daily needs disrupted
Residents said the loss of water affected the most basic parts of daily life: bathing, cooking, drinking water, washing dishes, and caring for children and pets.
One woman said she and her boyfriend previously had to leave the complex and stay in an Airbnb during another utility outage. She said they have paid to shower at a truck stop and bought bottled water for themselves and their animals.
“Me and my boyfriend had to go stay in an Airbnb because we were without water and power for at least three days over the weekend. We have to go all the way to the truck stop to take showers — $20 showers for us. And then on top of that, to the stores, we have to get water to boil for us and give to the animals when they’re thirsty,” she said.
Another resident said she has a newborn at home and has also dealt with power outages at the complex.
“We’ve been three days now without water, so it’s been like no lights, no water for me and my family. Other people have lights. I lost all my food last month, had just went grocery shopping. I have a newborn in the house. It’s just difficult, and I don’t think it’s fair,” she said.
A different tenant said she has been sleeping in her car for air conditioning while dealing with the lack of utilities at home.
“Still nothing, still no power, still no water. I’m sleeping in my car. I work five days a week. I sleep in my car — just for a little A.C. It’s ridiculous,” she said.
Questions about payments and accountability
Residents questioned why tenants who say they have paid their rent and utility bills are the ones suffering through outages.
“People are paying their bills, and then the people who are paying their bills are suffering for it,” one said.
Residents said management told them a payment was made to restore water service, but the check bounced. A call to Mobile County Water about the account and payment did not turn up account-specific details, and requests for comment left with Spanish Oak Inn management went unanswered. When someone visited the property to ask questions in person, the visitor was asked to leave.
Residents also raised concerns about potential evictions. One resident claimed management threatened to “boot” doors while tenants were at work or school. That claim could not be independently verified.
What Alabama law requires
Under Alabama’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, landlords generally must provide running water and a reasonable amount of hot water, with limited exceptions. Tenants who believe a landlord has failed to meet those obligations may pursue remedies outlined in the state statute, including written notice and potential legal action.
For parents, the outage created another immediate worry: getting children ready for school without running water.
“And now y’all don’t care that the children got to go to school. How they gonna brush their teeth?” one resident asked.
Another became emotional while describing the conditions: “I can’t do it no more. I just, I can’t. It’s called pain and suffering.”
The water is back on, according to residents, but they say the situation is not resolved until service is clean, hot and reliable — and until they receive answers about what led to the outage.
“We need some justice. We need some help,” one resident said.