Rambler Apartment Complex Mold and Sewage Issues Force Some Students Out Again

By Nicola Iannelli

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas – Dozens of students living in a West Campus apartment complex had to move out due to mold and sewage issues.

The problems at the Rambler apartments affected about 75 students, but as of Nov. 16th representatives for the complex state all but two have moved back in.

“Rambler has worked quickly and diligently to address these issues,” according to an email from Kristen Hendrix at TruePoint Communications. “They identified and addressed the water leaks. Licensed professionals have been on site to repair, restore and conduct testing as needed.”

This wasn’t the first time the complex has experienced issues. At its opening, Rambler staff promised students an Aug. 18 move-in, but on Aug. 17 staff told students they would need to find alternative housing until the building could pass a fire inspection.

Rambler gave students $200 a day to pay for housing and students could choose how to spend the money and where they wanted to live temporarily.

This wasn’t the only issue Elle Mertz said Rambler failed to address in a timely manner. Mertz is a resident who has not had a usable bathtub in more than two months, and she said she is tired of the negligence.

Elle Mertz, a resident at Rambler Apartment Complex in Austin, Texas, took this photo of a replacement tub sitting in her bathroom on Oct. 15, 2023. She has been waiting two months for this. (Courtesy: Elle Mertz)

“When I moved in, I looked in my tub and it’s filled with brown,” Mertz said. “Two weeks into the school year it was releasing this odor, a really foul odor. I came to find out a few weeks later that it was human feces in my tub.”

She and others are staying in a hotel while Rambler staff look into the issue. Some students on the sixth floor of Rambler said they have safety concerns about mold growth.

“Our ceiling is completely ripped open, and me and my roommate are living at The Moxy until the mold is gone,” said Catie Harmon, a senior business student.

Catie Harmon examines her ceiling at Rambler in Austin on Oct. 24, 2023. Her ceiling is ripped out because of a mold infestation that has taken over the apartment complex. (Nicola Iannelli/Reporting Texas TV)

Rambler management declined to comment on the issue, representatives for the complex provided a statement after this story was published. Former employee Nicole Darghi said she is confident Rambler will provide students with any necessary resources.

“I think if it does come down to that, Rambler will take care of the situation,” Dargahi said. “Whenever I worked there, they made sure they had all students accommodated for and paid for hotels.”

Mertz hopes this will not happen again after she moves back in.