BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont mother is claiming her apartment is making her family sick and maintenance requests have gone unanswered.
Lexus Jones tells 12News her unit at Lexington Apartments has been deteriorating over the last eight years, and that management increased her rent while neglecting to fix the problems in her unit.
From massive holes to mold, Jones says she's lived in hazardous conditions for years and it's only continued to get worse.
Last week, Jones had to rush her two-year-old son Messiah Ivory to Texas Children's Hospital after she says an infected spider bite began to spread.
"He was in the hospital because he got bit by a spider," she said.
Jones blames the giant holes in her apartment for letting the uninvited guests inside.
"Having to see my baby go through that, I wouldn't wish that on any parent," Jones said.
She says she lost her job because she was caring for her son during his recovery. The problems don't stop there.
"It's terrible. Nobody should be living like this," said Jones.
Some of the problems in Jones' apartment include a carpet that's in desperate need of replacement, signs of water damage throughout, multiple electrical outlets without power and water leaks from the upstairs bathtub through the downstairs ceiling because of an uncaulked and damaged base.
There's also a damaged bedroom floor, an overhead air vent that's rusted shut and an A/C unit that is covered in mold.
"It's common for us to get sick around here because nothing gets fixed at all," Jones said. "[My son] gets sick, I want to say, at least twice a week."
Jones says she's repeatedly called and even sent pictures to the property management and maintenance but her efforts haven't yielded any permanent fixes.
"You can complain as much as you want to. They are going to say they are going to get on top of it, but it's not going to happen," she said.
With nowhere left to turn, Jones says her family may be forced to move before their health gets worse.
"We shouldn't have to fix stuff on our own when we are paying y'all monthly to stay here, and this is y'all's problem that y'all are supposed to fix. I don't want to keep having to go to the hospital. It's just ridiculous," said Jones.
Management at the Lexington Apartment complex told 12News they don't have a comment at this time.
Houston-based Ascension Property Management owns the complex but they have yet to respond to additional requests for comment.