Residents at a North Dallas apartment complex say their apartment management is once again shutting off water during another January cold snap. According to a notice sent to residents and shared with NBC 5, management at the Saxony apartments began preemptively shutting off water to the entire complex for several hours overnight to prevent broken pipes and flooding, as they did in January 2024. “They sent an email yesterday they out at 3:50 saying it would be off from 11 to six and it would continue through Wednesday,” said longtime resident Megan Thompsen. “I was frustrated because I thought this was solved last year. It’s against code. They’re not allowed to do it and yet they’re continuing to do it so clearly, they didn’t learn their lesson.” Thompsen’s Sunday night ended without running water and brushing her teeth with a bucket of water. According to Moche Earls, the director of compliance for the complex: ‘As a result of the extreme cold temperatures which Dallas is currently experiencing, we have taken precautionary measures to try and limit our residents’ apartments from flooding due to broken pipes.’ This is the second January in a row where the complex along Montford Drive has taken this approach to prevent broken pipes, despite an NBC 5 report last year where the Dallas City Code Compliance department made it clear” ‘water cannot be shut off unless apartment management is actively making repairs for an issue that would require them to shut off the water.’ Last year, the city urged any Dallas renters experiencing the same situation to call 311 and file a complaint. Complaints require inspections within 24 hours because it is considered a ‘life hazard issue,’ according to the department. Thompsen says she filed a complaint last year and, “the city says that [the apartments] were cited. I don’t know the amount or anything.” However, Earls says they were not fined. In a statement, Earls added: ‘Any minor inconvenience from the lack of water overnight is offset by minimizing the number of residents who become displaced from water damage to their unit. Most residents are grateful for our efforts and appreciate the preventative approach.’ Thompsen argues if this is such a good idea, then why don’t all Dallas apartment communities do the same and why is there a city code against cutting off access to running water unless in an emergency? “I just want to keep everyone informed on what codes are and keep us all safe,” said Thompsen. “I reached out yesterday both on the 311 app and I called them. They said multiple people from this complex have also reached out stating the concerns.”