Major water leak forces family out of home

WRTV's Cornelius Hocker talks to a couple that was forced out of their rental house following a water leak.

Family displaced by water leak has warning for other renters

By: Cornelius Hocker

CAMBY — Mariah and Ryan Parmerlee thought things were finally settling down.

Their twins, Kaizer and Kinzley, were born premature and spent time in the NICU. Kaizer spent two months; Kinzley spent one month.

"He had breathing issues, feeding issues. He had to be a on feeding tube for two months along with a CPAP machine," the couple said.

After fighting through those battles, the parents say their twins are now going up against something that could cause a huge setback.

"It's just been a struggle to get them healthy and now that we've got them healthy and we've moved into a house full of mold to put their health at risk, again," Mariah said.

Last Friday, Mariah woke up her husband because she heard what she thought was water that had been left on. Around 5 a.m., Ryan discovered leaking coming from the ceiling. He says he immediately called Main Street Renewal several times to report the issue.

The couple says this falls under one of the categories their landlords consider an emergency that needs to be reported immediately.

To date, the Parmerlees say no one has come to check on the property despite the company putting them in a hotel and offering to let them out of their lease.

"They were willing to release us from our contract but yet I've not spoken to a single person or voiced that to anybody," Ryan said.

Main Street Renewal is an Austin, Texas-based company. They rent out homes across a couple of dozen cities including Indianapolis and the surrounding metro area.

WRTV reached out to the company to address the claims from the Parmerlees. We were provided with a statement on Wednesday regarding the matter. It is below.

“Residents are at the center of everything we do at Main Street Renewal, and maintenance concerns are a top priority. In this case, Main Street Renewal secured temporary lodging for this our resident and their family on the same day they reported the leak and extended it as maintenance teams worked to identify the cause of the issue. We’ll continue to work with residents in Indiana and across our markets to provide durable and attainable housing options and with professionally managed services."

Now, the couple says they're in limbo. They have a big family, nine people in total. The two-bed hotel room they've been placed in by the company isn't big enough for all of them.

"It might be too late for us but other young couples, especially in today's market. People our age are getting priced out. Make sure you do your research," Ryan said.