"It's hard, I had never lived in a condition like this - never," said Seven Oaks Apartment resident Claudia Nega.

She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her legally blind fiance. Both are disabled and living on fixed income. Her residence, along with many others at the apartment complex are considered to be section 8 housing.

Nega moved in to the Northwest side complex in September of 2021. She says at first, living at Seven Oaks was not a hassle.

"I did have hot water, when I first moved in I did have a working air conditioner," Nega says, "which the air conditioner only lasted for 2 to 3 months." It was then that maintenance in her apartment seemed to become non-existent to property management, Achieve Investment Group, who owns Seven Oaks and many other properties throughout San Antonio.

"I haven't had air conditioner since November of last year, I haven't had hot water for the past 6 weeks," says Nega, fighting back tears because of the stress this has caused.

She's not the only one who has faced struggles in her apartment, many other residents are facing the same troubles.

"My hot water went out, no one has come to fix it," says Peair Richardson, "and this was about 2 months ago, and just a couple days ago my AC went out. So, yeah double whammy for me, and yeah, no help."

Richardson said he began talking to other neighbors of his and realized they all had similar issues, the most common one: management did not fix their repairs. After feeling left in the dark, Richardson said they took their next step, "we started a tenants union, we've protested against management, we've posted our demands."

They sought help, Texas Organizing Project came in to help lead the way. A grass roots, nonprofit that helps people of color campaign for a cause, in this case, a neighborhood seeking help.

"There seems to be an assumption that simply because these people are working class, living paycheck-to-paycheck receiving section 8 housing, that they're not smart enough to know what's really going on and they don't know how to fight back," says Ashton Condel with TOP. He believes with their help and a hand from city officials, these tenants will get the help they deserve.

News 4 reached out to San Antonio District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval for a response, she replied with,

"The living conditions for residents at Seven Oaks Apartments is unacceptable and I urge the management company to begin repairs immediately," Councilwoman Sandoval says. "My team will continue to work directly with residents, city staff and TOP until every issue has been resolved."

Sunday afternoon a potluck was held with numerous tenants and TOP, to discuss what maintenance issues need to be fixed. Tenants explained they've been given eviction notices for July 31.

One of their demands to property management is asking for an extension to December 23. As well as having maintenance issues fixed within 72 hours. These tenants are also looking for relocation expenses.

News 4 San Antonio reached out to Seven Oaks Apartments by email and phone call, no response was given before the story deadline.