Omaha woman says landlord wouldn’t help after heavy rains destroyed her apartment

By Alex Whitney

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KMTV) — Sehrish Abdullahi was sleeping soundly in her apartment at 3031 Burt Street Monday morning when she was awoken by a sound no one wants to hear.

“It was Monday morning, around 3 o’clock in the morning, I would say. It started as just a small drip, then it became like, spread all around the building, my apartment my room everywhere,” said Abdullahi.

Sehrish said she reached out to her landlord to let them know about the issue, but she received no response.

Then her problems got worse.

after heavy rains destroyed her apartment An Omaha woman woke up to the sound of water dripping in her apartment. The problem has been getting worse, but so far, the landlord hasn’t fixed it. By: Alex Whitney Posted at 6:17 PM, Aug 03, 2023 and last updated 8:47 PM, Aug 03, 2023

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Sehrish Abdullahi was sleeping soundly in her apartment at 3031 Burt Street Monday morning when she was awoken by a sound no one wants to hear.

“It was Monday morning, around 3 o’clock in the morning, I would say. It started as just a small drip, then it became like, spread all around the building, my apartment my room everywhere,” said Abdullahi.

Sehrish said she reached out to her landlord to let them know about the issue, but she received no response.

Then her problems got worse.

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“I haven’t seen a response for a while, like hours and hours, then the next thing I know, the half of the roof came; while I was in my living room it came like BOOM,” said Abdullahi.

She continued to wait. Tuesday she got no response. Wednesday she tried again as rain was pouring in, but to no avail.

That’s when she reached out to KMTV.

“They haven’t fixed nothing yet. You can take a look, everything is still worst and worst,” said Abdullahi.

after heavy rains destroyed her apartment An Omaha woman woke up to the sound of water dripping in her apartment. The problem has been getting worse, but so far, the landlord hasn’t fixed it. By: Alex Whitney Posted at 6:17 PM, Aug 03, 2023 and last updated 8:47 PM, Aug 03, 2023

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Sehrish Abdullahi was sleeping soundly in her apartment at 3031 Burt Street Monday morning when she was awoken by a sound no one wants to hear.

“It was Monday morning, around 3 o’clock in the morning, I would say. It started as just a small drip, then it became like, spread all around the building, my apartment my room everywhere,” said Abdullahi.

Sehrish said she reached out to her landlord to let them know about the issue, but she received no response.

Then her problems got worse.

Recent Stories from 3newsnow.com

“I haven’t seen a response for a while, like hours and hours, then the next thing I know, the half of the roof came; while I was in my living room it came like BOOM,” said Abdullahi.

She continued to wait. Tuesday she got no response. Wednesday she tried again as rain was pouring in, but to no avail.

That’s when she reached out to KMTV.

“They haven’t fixed nothing yet. You can take a look, everything is still worst and worst,” said Abdullahi.

When we returned to Sehrish’s apartment on Thursday, the hole in her ceiling was even bigger, and water still dripping in.

Unfortunately, she is facing a situation that many renters face. There are, however, organizations in Omaha that are willing the lend a helping hand.

“It’s always best to contact us. We do an intake on every person that contacts us then we can guide them accordingly for what their options are,” said Joe Garcia, program director for the Fair Housing Center of Nebraska and Iowa.

Garcia says the first thing you should do when a problem arises is let the landlord know and get plenty of documentation.

“First thing, like this woman did, take video. Take video, pictures, evidence of what’s going on. That way there is proof, you know, don’t take my word for it, it’s right here,” said Garcia.

Sehrish says her landlord has promised to fix her destroyed living room, but she doesn’t have faith they will follow through. She hopes her story can inspire others to take action to hold absent landlords accountable.

after heavy rains destroyed her apartment An Omaha woman woke up to the sound of water dripping in her apartment. The problem has been getting worse, but so far, the landlord hasn’t fixed it. By: Alex Whitney Posted at 6:17 PM, Aug 03, 2023 and last updated 8:47 PM, Aug 03, 2023

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Sehrish Abdullahi was sleeping soundly in her apartment at 3031 Burt Street Monday morning when she was awoken by a sound no one wants to hear.

“It was Monday morning, around 3 o’clock in the morning, I would say. It started as just a small drip, then it became like, spread all around the building, my apartment my room everywhere,” said Abdullahi.

Sehrish said she reached out to her landlord to let them know about the issue, but she received no response.

Then her problems got worse.

Recent Stories from 3newsnow.com

“I haven’t seen a response for a while, like hours and hours, then the next thing I know, the half of the roof came; while I was in my living room it came like BOOM,” said Abdullahi.

She continued to wait. Tuesday she got no response. Wednesday she tried again as rain was pouring in, but to no avail.

That’s when she reached out to KMTV.

“They haven’t fixed nothing yet. You can take a look, everything is still worst and worst,” said Abdullahi.

When we returned to Sehrish’s apartment on Thursday, the hole in her ceiling was even bigger, and water still dripping in.

Unfortunately, she is facing a situation that many renters face. There are, however, organizations in Omaha that are willing the lend a helping hand.

“It’s always best to contact us. We do an intake on every person that contacts us then we can guide them accordingly for what their options are,” said Joe Garcia, program director for the Fair Housing Center of Nebraska and Iowa.

Garcia says the first thing you should do when a problem arises is let the landlord know and get plenty of documentation.

“First thing, like this woman did, take video. Take video, pictures, evidence of what’s going on. That way there is proof, you know, don’t take my word for it, it’s right here,” said Garcia.

Sehrish says her landlord has promised to fix her destroyed living room, but she doesn’t have faith they will follow through. She hopes her story can inspire others to take action to hold absent landlords accountable.

“My story, I really want to share my story and make it helpful to the whole world,” said Abdullahi.

Anchor Zach Williamson and photojournalist Sean Kelly contributed reporting to this story.

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