Tenants of The Cooper apartments face uncertainty about moving out after fire

Tenants of The Cooper apartments in Fort Worth are still reeling from the 6-alarm fire that displaced more than 800 of them from their homes on June 23 and they’re waiting for answers to lingering questions about their leases, rent and access to their apartments.

In Building 1, where the fire started near an HVAC unit on the roof, at least 25 apartments are a total loss due to the extent of the damage and collapsed floors, according to a structural assessment that management received.

With this loss and tenants wanting to break their leases without penalty, some are saying they’re still confused and are receiving mixed signals from property management of the complex at 1001 W. Rosedale St.

“We cannot comment as this is an ongoing investigation, but as always, the safety and security of the residents is our top priority,” a company spokesperson for the property management company, Cushman and Wakefield, said in a statement to the Star-Telegram.

Can Cooper apartment tenants break their leases?

In an email on Friday, June 27, The Cooper told tenants that all residents can be released from their leases without penalty.

“We were about to sign a lease (at a different complex), but then received confusing communications that we might not be able to leave our lease. So, we’re in a bit of limbo right now,” said a tenant who asked to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation.

The confusion came after residents received a second email on Saturday, June 28, that said The Cooper would not hold tenants to their leases until the landlord is able to determine if their apartments are habitable in accordance with their lease agreement.

In Building 1, “there is still a significant amount of water throughout the building, and due to continued and evolving safety concerns — no one will be permitted to enter until further notice,” an email said.

But some residents may be able to move back into Building 2 soon, according to the email. “Restoration work is actively underway in Building 2, and some residents may be able to return to their homes as early as next week. Lease terms and rent adjustments will be managed individually, based on each resident’s specific situation and timeline for re-occupancy,” the email to tenants said.

The email from management also had information on apartments available through sister communities that will provide free rent for four months.

Will Cooper residents have to pay rent?

Residents will get a prorated refund for June rent from June 23 to June 30, but there is no exact timeline for when the refunds will be processed, according to an email from management.

The email also stated that July rent is not currently due and is being waived, but it’s not clear to some tenants whether that applies to everyone or only those residents who are breaking their leases. “Please be sure to cancel all bank drafts and auto payments,” the email states. “In the event that your payment cannot be canceled, we will issue a refund.”

The management company also said that security deposits would be returned to residents who are moving out.

How have residents been able to recover belongings?

Residents of Building 1 received help on Monday from Fort Worth firefighters who were given lists of personal items that the tenants needed and went into their apartments to retrieve them.

“From cherished photos, family heirlooms to everyday essentials, our firefighters walked where those displaced could not go,” the Fire Department said in a social media post Monday. “Residents provided firefighters with a detailed list of the essential belongings to retrieve and a directional map of where those items were located in the apartment. This list allowed crews to get into the apartment and pull what was needed quickly so we could help as many people as possible today. For the sheer amount of people to help, time (and the heat) was not on our side, so our firefighters moved quickly and efficiently to get in and get out.”

“Wagon after wagon was filled from the apartments, and residents were reunited with items they have waited to hold for a week,” the department said. “Service doesn’t end when the fire is out — and today proved just that.”

Residents of Building 2 were told that they would be escorted to their apartments on Tuesday afternoon to get their essential personal items. But tenants have not been able to move out any large items such as furniture.

What resources are available to help residents?

The United Way, Near Southside, and Fort Worth City Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck’s office have set up a relief fund.

Tenants will need to complete a verification form to confirm they have been impacted by the fire. According to Beck, the United Way has agreed to give 100% of the contributions to the victims of the fire. The fundraising campaign will end on July 8.

“People are scared and looking for help and information, and I don’t have any place to go. I don’t have a savings,” Beck said about the questions she has been getting from residents. “What resources do I have? Do you know when I’ll be able to get back into my apartment? Questions like that, just looking for answers.”

Some tenants still say they are looking for those answers from management.

Alessandra Rizzi, who is from Italy and works for TCU’s Business School as a professor, moved to The Cooper apartments in 2021.

“Over time, the maintenance has been worse and worse. I live on the fifth floor and around May, I started to smell something burning,” she said. “What I’ve been told by management is that neighbors are having a barbecue.”

When it was time to renew her lease, she wrote the management a letter saying that she wasn’t going to sign a lease if they didn’t do proper maintenance.

“My experience like everybody else has been devastating,” Rizzi said. “I have lost all the things I loved most. Being far from home, it makes it very hard.”

Clifford Barbutes, who lived in the complex with his grandmother, said that on the day of the fire, he didn’t hear the alarms from inside.

“No fire sprinklers, no fire alarm. And I heard it from outside, because my bed’s by the window, and I was like, what is that buzzing noise, you know? So I get up, I get out of my bed, I go into the hallway, and you see a whole bunch of smoke right there.”

Barbutes, whose grandmother is not mobile, had to help her out of the building.

“I had to carry my grandmother out because they didn’t have enough manpower to, at the time, to take her out of the building,” he said. “So I had to take her out of the building, go back in, get her wheelchair, come back down.”

Alberto Miranda, who lived in Building 1, said that he was concerned about the financial impact of the fire. He said that like others he is staying at a hotel until he can find a place to move.

“They haven’t said anything about the expenses outside of the damages. They haven’t spoken about the expenses outside of the renter’s insurance,” he said.

Miranda made a list for management employees of the things he needed and he was waiting for them to be retrieved on Tuesday, but he said he wasn’t sure if he would get all the times he asked for.

This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 12:19 PM.