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I went to Google and started typing "is water leak..." and it prompted for "...emergency", so I went with it and saw a bunch of posts implying it can, indeed, be an emergency. Then I also googled "tenant and landlord rights nc" and it found an official brochure. Seems like a good resource.
I'm sorry you're experiencing this but I'd also urge you not to rush into trying to hire someone yourself. However unpleasant, I suspect that if this ends up in court it may be difficult to justify that a water leak in one room made property uninhabitable. If it was no heat in winter and such you'd have a stronger case.
Since water leak can do a lot of damage I am actually surprised that landlord is not rushing to address this. But, unfortunately, there is nothing more you can do. Try to move your child to another room or maybe send her to a friend's house, if possible. I'm sure the landlord will resolve this on Monday latest. And for a few days of inconvenience you will save a lot of money or headache. Just calm down and think about this rationally. Again, I'm sorry this is happening and I spent my share of time in bad moldy apartments, so I can relate. It sucks.
When I was in high school, my parents decided to add a second story to our house (as we were rather cramped at the time). One summer night, when the 2nd floor walls were up (but not yet the roof), we had a terrible thunderstorm. The contractor had tarps draped over the tops of the walls, but it didn't take long for those tarps to fill up like small ponds, collapse and then the deluge of the water was free to enter the house. Following the path of least resistance, the majority of the water came through the ceiling light fixtures, that was a very interesting experience.
Other than the fear of electricity and water mixing, damage was minimized for two reasons: the walls/ceiling were lathe and plaster as opposed to drywall and we had removed the old ceiling insulation that was in the house, so we didn't have to worry about it getting soaked. 25 years later, no lingering negative effects.
Had a hot water pipe burst two floors above me in an old apartment in Raleigh. Ended up having to go find the line myself and turn it off. Apartment management set a fan in my apartment two days later for 48 hours to 'dry' the carpet. Then left the fan there and I had to store it a week to get them to pick it up. Had a lawyer and a law student friend read the contract and the apartment company couldn't be held responsible for any water damage because they did what they could during work hours.
Your best bet is just find a way to get it temporarily fixed and keep contacting you HOA to get a real fix. Getting it deducted from your rent is a dangerous proposition unless they offer it first.
I'd get a sheet of plastic and duct tape as mentioned above for a temp. fix but stay on top of the HOA/property manager in the meantime. I agree it is a weekend and they likely have someone "on call" but not working 24/7. Their definitions of emergency are likely different from yours but at any rate they should be scrambling to fix a leak due to the risk of water damage and ultimately mold developing as a result. If they don't get responsive I'd find a landlord/tenant attorney and get them involved but I'd give them at least a week to remedy it first. Not sure if your financial situation but Legal Aid may be able to help.
1. Move your child out of that room and move belongings so that they don't get wet.
2 . If water is dripping, put a bucket to catch the water.
3. Wait
I know it sucks, but there isn't anything you can do, other than continue to try and make contact with property management. Sometime life throws inconveniences at us. If you were a homeowner, you would be unlikely to find a repair person any faster. So at the end of the day, the only you can do is protect your belongings and wait for someone to come out.
1. Move your child out of that room and move belongings so that they don't get wet.
2 . If water is dripping, put a bucket to catch the water.
3. Wait
I know it sucks, but there isn't anything you can do, other than continue to try and make contact with property management. Sometime life throws inconveniences at us. If you were a homeowner, you would be unlikely to find a repair person any faster. So at the end of the day, the only you can do is protect your belongings and wait for someone to come out.
This is a very good point. It's easy to get all up in arms when you're a renter and expect immediate repairs, but when you own a home, you quickly find out that repairs cannot always be performed quickly.
I'd just evacuate the room, put some plastic over the entry point in the attic, and add a bucket to catch any that might still get through if the plastic fails.
As for mold and such, unless I was staying there for a long time, I'd just figure the mold was the owner's problem and not give that a 2nd thought.
I'd know I always had the option to move and not deal with any of it.
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I understand your frustration, but from a practical perspective, they haven't been remiss yet in fixing the problem. It takes time to find and coordinate people to fix things. Oftentimes workmen can't get out for 48 hours. The standards for being able to deduct something from rent are pretty steep.
I'm a landlord in another state. I used to have a management company while I was in grad school, but not any more. I decided I could do a better job and save the money. I would treat your problem as an emergency, but as others have pointed out, it might be tough to get a repair person at your house right away. Some companies will have an after hours person but not all. Sorry to hear about your problem.
I apologize to whomever I snapped at. I was majorly stressed and it was inappropriate of me to become snarky. As 95lb female with limited upper body strength, I was physically incapable of accessing the attic and temporarily fixing the issue.
I have since discovered that leaking through a roof into the dwelling is considered urgent in North Carolina. They came later that day to "repair" through the attic. All was well until Hermine hit this last weekend. Since they did a make shift "repair" instead of truly getting to the bottom of the issue, water began to pour through the ceiling onto my child's bed and furniture again, to much greater effect. Luckily, they were able to send their contractor out to repair later that day, but not before the carpet, bedding, mattress, and furniture were soaked and I required the assistance of a stronger person to move the furniture out of the way.
All in all, I am thrilled to be leaving this management company in my rear view mirror in a few weeks. Our relationship with them has been fraught with issues from a massive termite swarm that they refused to believe was termites (it was definitively termites) to ignoring multiple requests for various repairs without multiple contacts to reneging on a verbal agreement to hold the lease over for two months (which they eventually agreed to after we offered them an additional $200/mo). This townhome is suffering greatly just due to passage of time and lack of proper maintenance (Maintenence which falls far out of my scope of responsibilities as a tenant). I can't wait for the battle at the end wherein they try to nickel and dime my deposit for items that have nothing to do with myself or the others living here. They have not painted or recarpeted since the unit was built in 2006/07. Now, they are trying to stick me with the financial responsibility of professionally cleaning the ten-year-old carpets that are worn due to age and normal use. Can they withhold my deposit for this professional carpet cleaning if I refuse? A question for another topic, I'm afraid.
They have not painted or recarpeted since the unit was built in 2006/07. Now, they are trying to stick me with the financial responsibility of professionally cleaning the ten-year-old carpets that are worn due to age and normal use. Can they withhold my deposit for this professional carpet cleaning if I refuse? A question for another topic, I'm afraid.
Well it's up to you how much you really care at this point. Sometimes it's best to just "cut your losses" and move on with life stress free. In my opinion, carpet cleaning falls under normal wear/tear of leasing and considering the length of time that the same carpet has been in place, along with the water damage issues, withholding your deposit is unjust of your landlord. I'd contest it to a point, but that's just me.
Again, pick your battles.
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