Disgruntled apartment renters, check in here!

[medjay]

Last night my upstairs neighbor decided to wash dishes. Unbeknownst to him, the pipe under his sink burst. So, I come home to find my living room rug soaked and my antique coffee table, as well as several DVDs and my PS2 controller, covered with stinking water. The worst part is this isn't the first time this has happened. Aparantly, my upstairs neighbor has been waiting two years for the managment company to come fix the sink. In the meantime, the maintenance guy has some kind of plastic jiffy-rigged device under his sink that doesn't work worth shit. I'm going to go up there tomorrow and fix the godamned thing myself.

In other news: They've begun a regular schedule of pest control spraying. That's cool except for the fact that since I work odd hours I'm never here to let the exterminators in. Instead of having someone open my apartment they just leave it unsprayed. After living here for over eight months roach free, I suddenly had a lot of very unwelcome guests. And they had no plans on getting the exterminator back over here any time soon. So now I found myself tossing boric acid around like a man posessed and caulking up every hole I could find. (Word to the wise: If you really want to get rid of roaches, forget about the sprays and bombs; boric acid and a caulk gun are the only ammunition you need. )

Finally, the boiler has a nasty habit of conking out leaving everyone in the building with no heat. The funny thing is, when you call to report it they always say, "That's strange . . . You're the only one complaining," which is flat out bullshit.

The new maintenance man just moved next door to me so hopefully some of these hassles will go away.

Anyone else putting up with similar or worse situations in their apartments feel free to use this thread to vent and share your pain.

 

[HeavyStick]

Call HUD, this guy falls under rules and regulations. get a statement from your upstairs neighbor, get your lease renewed with a fixed agreement. Then take his ass to court.

 

[horny_giraffe]

I hear you.

Last year, I didn't have hot water for about two weeks and the water came out it a little trickle. I called the housing inspector.

He came and checked out the place and I got a new window, some new lights, AND the water fixed. I love the government.

Still, my landlord is a miser and refuses to turn the heat up. My apartment doesn't get higher than 65, no matter what I do to the thermostat.

Most everything else that's cosmetic or minor I just fix myself. I had a leaky faucet for about a month, and I figured out that all had to do was replace a couple of worn-out rubber washers (after I took it apart, of course.) I replaced the kitchen tiles, did some painting, fixed a window, fixed some holes in the wall--little stuff.

The nice thing about a landlord that doesn't maintain an apartment is that damm near anything I do is an improvement.

 

[HeavyStick]

I hear you.

Last year, I didn't have hot water for about two weeks and the water came out it a little trickle. I called the housing inspector.

He came and checked out the place and I got a new window, some new lights, AND the water fixed. I love the government.

Still, my landlord is a miser and refuses to turn the heat up. My apartment doesn't get higher than 65, no matter what I do to the thermostat.

Most everything else that's cosmetic or minor I just fix myself. I had a leaky faucet for about a month, and I figured out that all had to do was replace a couple of worn-out rubber washers (after I took it apart, of course.) I replaced the kitchen tiles, did some painting, fixed a window, fixed some holes in the wall--little stuff.

The nice thing about a landlord that doesn't maintain an apartment is that damm near anything I do is an improvement.

Take pics, make phone calls in order to try to get him to make repairs. then pay him the rent minus the value of goods. (give him the reciepts and give him an invoice of what your time is worth, minimum wage at least.) if he doesn't like it he can take you to court and lose.

 

[kotori]

my only complaint about the boiler is that it works too well--i've got all the windows open, it's insanely hot in here.

the cockroaches carried away my caulkgun, and are holding it for ransome. i'd complain, but i did some checking at city hall, and it turns out, they actually own the building. i wondered what all those little tiny footprints were on the back of my cancelled rent check.

 

[medjay]

Call HUD, this guy falls under rules and regulations. get a statement from your upstairs neighbor, get your lease renewed with a fixed agreement. Then take his ass to court.

Yeah . . .

The frustrating thing is, for the most part they're pretty damned quick to fix things but something new always goes wrong a few weeks later. We never spend more than a day or two without heat and when they "Fix" it we sit around nice and toasty for a month or two before the thing goes haywire again.

I just don't get this Jedi mind trick they try to play by telling everyone that they're the only ones complaining when the boiler services the whole building. I got them to credit me money for the days I didn't have any heat which was okay but I'd just rather not be without heat, period.

This thing about the sink is another matter. I know the pipe doesn't cost more than a few bucks at the hardware store.

When I think about moving I know that I'll just encounter a different set of annoyances somewhere else. Plus, I have a nice place with free parking, a huge backyard and reasonable rent. People I know paying twice as much as me don't have hot water.

Once I save enough money and buy my house, at least all the fuck ups and hassles will be my responsibility alone.

 

[horny_giraffe]

my only complaint about the boiler is that it works too well--i've got all the windows open, it's insanely hot in here.

the cockroaches carried away my caulkgun, and are holding it for ransome. i'd complain, but i did some checking at city hall, and it turns out, they actually own the building. i wondered what all those little tiny footprints were on the back of my cancelled rent check.

Yeah. My last apartment was too hot a lot of the time, too. Fortunately for me, my place is pretty nice now--since I fixed everything.

The phone lines are still a little noisy. Damm FBI. Billions of dollars worth of equipment and they still can't make a clean tap.

 

[MissTaken]

Medjay?

Do you carry renter's insurance? If so, most policies would cover the damages made by the water.

My pipes froze last week.
I have half of the storm windows I need and plastic everywhere else. I have heard it is the landlord's responsibility to weatherize the place.

Oh, and when I moved in. It cost nearly 200 dollars to get the phone hooked up. Something had chewed the phone wire inside the house. The landlord refused to compensate me for the repairs. Again, as the homeowner, given the work done, it was his responsibility.

On the upside, late rent payments are no big deal.

So, I am not going to give him too much trouble.

 

[HeavyStick]

Medjay?

Do you carry renter's insurance? If so, most policies would cover the damages made by the water.

My pipes froze last week.
I have half of the storm windows I need and plastic everywhere else. I have heard it is the landlord's responsibility to weatherize the place.

Oh, and when I moved in. It cost nearly 200 dollars to get the phone hooked up. Something had chewed the phone wire inside the house. The landlord refused to compensate me for the repairs. Again, as the homeowner, given the work done, it was his responsibility.

On the upside, late rent payments are no big deal.

So, I am not going to give him too much trouble.

When it's part of a complex and the damage is caused by another unit. It falls under a completely different set of rules. Fucking insurance clauses, read them carefully and thoroughly. Some will cover water damage caused by rain but not rain part of a tornado. Or water damage from a firehose if your neighbors house catches fire.