Jacqueline Greene and her three small children slept in their Sharpstown-area apartment without a door for three nights last week because she is more than two months in arrears on her $593-a-month rent.

Her complex's management has been removing the front doors from units occupied by residents who owe money, tenants said, a violation of state law that has left families unsecured and exposed to the bitter cold.

"It's like an awful feeling," said Greene, a 27-year-old single mother with a 9-year-old son and two daughters, 8 and 2. "You're worried about someone coming into your home in the middle of the night. Anything can happen while me and the kids are asleep. ... As a mother, your job is to protect your kids. When something like this happens, it makes that impossible."

At least three renters have complained about the practice by management at Villa de Cancun, in the 9400 block of Woodfair behind Sharpstown Mall, to the Houston Apartment Association, agency spokesman Andy Teas said.

An association representative called complex officials and advised them that they had a responsibility to replace the doors, he said, adding that management denied taking them down. The agency also alerted the city of Houston, and "they were going to send inspectors out," Teas said.

The property has been owned by Woodfair Properties since 2006. David W. Anderson, a Houston attorney representing Woodfair in court cases involving the complex, had no comment on the door removal. Management did not respond to the Chronicle's request for a response.

'Blatantly illegal'

The door to Greene's second-floor unit was returned Thursday, so she removed the blanket she tacked up - but now the damaged entry way still doesn't lock properly. Her friend, who lives on the bottom floor of a nearby building, still had a missing front door on Saturday.

It is illegal for landlords to remove doors, windows, fixtures, locks or latches except for a "bonafide repair or replacement" that "must be promptly performed," according to the Texas Property Code. If there is a violation, the law allows a tenant to walk away - specifically "terminate the lease" - as well as recover damages including one month's rent plus $1,000 and other penalties.

The law has been on the books for more than two decades and was supported by the Texas Apartment Association, according to David Mintz, the group's vice president of government affairs.

"Removing doors or windows or locks is certainly not something we hear about being a common practice," he said, adding that this strategy is blatantly illegal. "The statute is extremely clear. The language is pretty explicit. There are other remedies available to owners."

Lots of complaints

Villa de Cancun generated the second-highest number of calls to Houston's newish apartment complaint line, according to a Chronicle analysis this year of the first 15 months of records.

The shabby complex of 329 apartments was the subject of a city "habitability investigation" last year. In May, the owners received a notice of administrative violations with a $63,000 fine. In July, the Greater Sharpstown Management District sued Woodfair for six years of back taxes and penalties, from 2007 to 2012, amounting to more than $19,000, Harris County District Court records show.

Woodfair Properties has its own legal beefs with authorities. Owners sued the Harris County Appraisal District in September to appeal the $2.3 million assessed value of the complex for 2012. And in October, they filed a civil case against the city alleging that the habitability citation is "void and unenforceable" because inspectors entered the premises illegally.

Other alleged threats

Greene moved into her two-bedroom apartment in February. Unemployment and transportation issues have caused her to fall behind on a portion of October's rent, all of November's and now that the first of the month has passed, she's late for December. After struggling with unemployment and small welfare payments, she's now on assignment as a temporary worker with the city.

She came home from work Monday and wondered why her door was open.

"When I get a little bit closer upstairs, I realize there is no door," Greene said. "I think to myself: Where is my door?"

She inquired in the leasing office just before closing time. A manager and a maintenance worker told her that doors on the property had been removed because of owed rent.

"I tried to set up an arrangement, but they said I needed to pay $600 or I wouldn't get my door back," Greene said, adding that management also threatened to take her appliances, remove her belongings and board up the unit if she didn't come up with the money. "If you're going to evict me, do it the right way. Don't take my door."

Pursuing assistance

Greene started calling for help. The Houston Police Department referred her to the constable's office. She said she was advised to pay her rent or move. A Houston Apartment Association representative told her the practice was illegal and promised to investigate. Greene's mother, who lives in New York, contacted the Chronicle.

Teas, with the local apartment association, said most complexes that his group represents are managed well. Villa de Cancun is not a member and the call to the complex about the doors was a courtesy, he said.

Houston Apartment Association members account for more than 500,000 area units.

"Like any other industry, there are going to be a couple of bad actors," Teas said.

Mintz, with the state apartment association, said that landlords have options under the Texas Property Code - besides proceeding with evictions - to work out payments with tenants. One is a lock-out process that usually convinces an evasive renter to discuss the owned money.

"It creates the opportunity to force that resident to come in and talk to the owner - even if they don't pay their rent - and then they can get access back in," Mintz said.