STAR, Idaho — A Star renter says she’s been dealing with flooding in her backyard for more than six months - and while crews are now working on a fix, she questions why it took so long.
The renter, who asked not to be identified, says the problem started just weeks after moving into her new home in mid-February. She sent photos to her landlord— American Homes 4 Rent— in February, June, and again this month, showing snowmelt, spring rain, and summer puddles that never fully drained.
“We have a completely saturated, unusable backyard that we are paying for,” she said.
Watch to see the Star resident's flooded backyard.
Emails shared with Idaho News 6 show American Homes 4 Rent told her in June that a solution was being worked on. Then, last Thursday, American Homes 4 Rent emailed saying landscaping crews would be there that Saturday to install a gravel pit drainage system. That crew never arrived.
Two days later, on Tuesday, crews from RJI Lawncare LLC showed up to start repairs. Phase one involved installing drains. The second phase - adding the gravel pit - won’t happen until the backyard dries out.
The landscaping crew told the renter her yard was “the worst” they’d seen in the neighborhood.
According to the renter, American Homes 4 Rent’s District Manager for Grounds explained that the issue dates back three years to when the first 14 homes in the area were built. Eight of those homes, including hers, were never properly graded or given backyard drainage. At the time, a certificate of occupancy only required front yard landscaping.
Since then, RJI Lawncare LLC has installed underground drainage pipes in at least eight of those original homes, and workers say those yards haven’t flooded since. American Homes 4 Rent now includes drainage systems in all new builds.
"We need to be working together, and I think there's room for improvement there, on all fronts," said the Star resident.
Idaho News 6 reached out to American Homes 4 Rent twice for comment, but have not received a response.
