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I am renting a place on short term lease. The building has several construction projects going on and I was notified when I signed my lease that they "may" happen while I was there. A month later I was given a schedule.
It has been horrific. The building is old (1920s) and has lead paint somewhere in its layers. Some genius decided to strip plaster/stucco/paint off of all the walls in the hallway. Every day when work is done there are piles of debris about a foot deep from all of this mess. The noise is deafening as they strip and grind down the walls. I was trying to work the other day from home and I couldn't even take a phone call due to the noise.
Hallways and doors are blocked off with tape and plastic without any notice. My neighbor got notification that her doorway would be taped shut at 11 am when it actually had already happened at 9. She tried to leave later in the day to run errands and got yelled at by the work crew for messing up their tape. She was never told she couldn't leave and never notified this was happening until after the fact.
The building is a hazard to all the residents, particularly the kids and elderly people that live there. The landlord is not giving any rent discounts for this crazy inconvenience, even when they re-do the kitchens in the unit and individual renters cannot store food for a month while the renovation is going on. The tenant association has hired an attorney but the landlord is not taking the complaints seriously.
What is my recourse? I can't go out into the hall without coughing. The dust is so thick sometimes you get coated in it when you walk down the hallway. We are never told we should wear masks or avoid this. Help!
The tenant association has hired an attorney but the landlord is not taking the complaints seriously.
If the tenant association's attorney is a competent attorney who's well versed in landlord tenant laws, something should already have been done as it sounds like a major habitability problem which your state laws clearly address. Sorry not to be of more help but this lies in his hands since he's been retained to deal with the problem.
I agree and I have contacted the tenant association. As many here are long term residents they don't want to rock the boat lest they sacrifice their rent controlled rates. The building could burn down around them and they would still stay. I would like to get out of my lease early because I can't BREATHE. I took video of the piles of crap in the halls and I have asked the landlord to release me early, offering to meet him halfway with a payment to get out of this place.
I just read this. I took video of the workers today who followed NONE of these procedures. My neighbor is pregnant and as I say there are lots of kids in the building. I need out of this place.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
BE CAREFUL! During the work, you might stir up dust or create fumes containing lead. This can be very dangerous for adults, children and pets. Always use a method that creates the least amount of dust and fumes.
You should consider hiring a professional contractor with experience in working safely with lead removal. Whether you're going to do the job yourself or hire somebody, it's YOUR responsibility to see that the job is done safely.
Here are some tips:
Children and pregnant women must not do any lead paint removal work, and they should stay out of the work area until clean-up is complete. (See "Clean-Up" section.) If you're not sure you can clean up every day, arrangements for temporary living quarters should be made.
Work in one room at a time, and seal off the work area from the rest of the house, including any heating or ventilation ducts, using heavy plastic sheets (6-mil thick is good).
EVERYTHING in the room (furniture, rugs, carpets, floors, bedding, drapes, dishware, food, toys, etc.) must be removed, or covered with TWO sheets of plastic (again, heavy, 6-mil plastic) and all the seams taped. Plastic used to cover the floor should be secured to the wall or baseboard with duct tape.
Workers should wear disposable coveralls, shoes, hair covering, goggles and a respirator approved by NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) or MSHA (the Mine Safety and Health Administration). Approved respirators will have an approval number on them, ( i.e., TC-21C-xxx). Only HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) respirators will filter lead dust and fumes. Simple paper or fabric dust masks will NOT protect a worker from lead dust.
To avoid ingesting lead, workers should not eat, drink or smoke on the job.
Workers need to clean up carefully. Before leaving the work area, they should dispose of their coveralls, and remove the dust from their clothes with a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filtered vacuum cleaner. And workers should shower as soon as they can after work, so they don't spread lead dust around their homes.
WHAT TO DO
Enclosure
One way of reducing exposure to lead paint is to cover the surface with a new surface — by putting up drywall or by covering windowsills with vinyl or aluminum, for example. This doesn't require the removal of the lead paint, so this is often the easiest solution. But if the new surface is ever removed or damaged, the lead problem returns. Materials used to enclose lead-painted surfaces should be durable and fire resistant, such as gypsum board, aluminum, vinyl, plywood paneling, laminates, acrylic sheets, plexiglas, fiberglass, or tile.
What you should know about lead testing… Children who may have been exposed to lead-based paint should have a blood test to see if they have elevated blood levels. All children one and two years of age, or who may have been exposed, should be tested. Other children under six years of age, or who may have been exposed, should be tested if their doctors think they are at risk.
Encapsulation
Encapsulation is a technique that bonds materials to the existing painted surface; it's more than just a coat of paint, in that the encapsulant is bonded to the lead paint. It is important to follow product instructions exactly to be sure that a strong, long lasting bond is created.
Replacement
This might be a good time to think about replacement. Sometimes it's easier to replace windows, doors, or woodwork than it is to remove lead-based paint.
Removal
There are several ways to remove lead-based paints:
Wire brushing or wet hand scraping with the aid of a non-flammable solvent or abrasive compound. Liquid paint removers can be used on small areas, such as windowsills, doors and woodwork. Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions and warning labels before purchasing and using. It is important for workers to use personal protective equipment, such as gloves, safety glasses and disposable coveralls when using some paint removers.
Wet hand sanding and/or power sanding with HEPA filters. Only wet hand sanding and/or an electric sander equipped with a HEPA filtered vacuum attachment should be used. Dry hand sanding should never be done.
Heat stripping, using a low temperature (below 1100 degrees F) heat gun, followed by hand scraping. Heat guns pose a fire hazard, and make lead dust and vapors, so they should be used only by experienced workers wearing respirators.
The following methods of paint removal are hazardous and in some communities illegal, and should NOT be used:
open flame burning or torching;
machine sanding or grinding without a HEPA attachment;
abrasive blasting or sand blasting;
power washing without a method to trap water and paint chips.
Exterior work should be done on calm days, and wet-misting or vacuuming should be used to control lead dust and paint chips during removal. The ground around the building should be protected with heavy (6-mil) plastic sheets. The outer edges of the sheeting should be raised to trap dust, debris, and liquid wastes. Wastes should be disposed of properly, as described below.
CLEAN-UP
Lead removal will generate lead dust and debris. Unless the house is properly cleaned, it will be more hazardous after the work than it was before!
Daily Clean-Up
Everyday, the debris should be misted with water, swept up and placed in double 4-mil or 6- mil plastic bags. Then all surfaces should be wet-dusted and wet-mopped. This step is very important.
Final Clean-Up
A HEPA-equipped vacuum should be used on all surfaces (floors, walls, ceilings, woodwork, carpeting, furniture). DO NOT use a standard household vacuum or shop vacuum, which are not designed or equipped to trap lead dust particles. Then wet-mop hardwood surfaces with a solution containing a heavy-duty household cleaner (automatic dishwasher detergent or a lead-specific detergent). The wet-mopping should be followed by another HEPA vacuuming.
Old rugs and carpets should be replaced, if possible; and all furniture, bedding, rugs, carpets, drapes, etc., that were removed prior to work should be cleaned before being brought back in.
DISPOSAL
Debris from lead-based paint removal or renovation may be double-bagged and disposed of in limited quantities in household trash. Lead debris must never be burned. Liquid wastes, including wash water, must never be dumped onto the ground; waste water should be filtered through a cloth filter before dumping into a sanitary sewer or toilet. The filtered debris can go out with the other trash. The mops and cloths used to clean up lead dust and debris should never be used for any other purpose, and should be disposed of when the job is done.
Contact your local/county or state agency that has jurisdiction over lead paint abatment and control. Contact your local/county or state agency that has jurisdiction over enviromental hazards. Thats where you start.
Also, you can call your city's building inspections department. They either have jurisdiction over the lead paint removal or can tell you who in the city that does. Are you sure there is really lead paint, because this stuff is pretty regulated.
You can not stop the landlord from renovating. You were given notice, and that's the end of that.
If you've got a lawyer and the work hasn't stopped, it is because the lawyer has no way to make the work stop.
Your best bet is to make arrangements to buy out your lease and leave.
You're wrong and obviously have great faith generally in lawyers which is something I simply don't share for a moment. Given that the OP has said that the attorney hired by the tenant association has done nothing to remedy the issue which, even at face, seems pretty serious where basic habitability is concerned, the OP needs to seek redress through local agencies. Just as poster Rabrrita suggested.
There is indeed lead paint, as there is in a lot of old buildings in my city. The argument from the landlord is that because there was not any lead paint in the immediate 2 square feet around my apartment door, they didn't have to take any precautions when they were renovating. Meanwhile there is lead paint all over the hallway.
I am sorry but a landlord does not have the right to expose tenants to health hazards. There are big holes in the walls at the baseboards due to construction that are just asking for some rodents to make them home.
[quote=whatisthedealwith;32584817]There is indeed lead paint, as there is in a lot of old buildings in my city. [/QUOTE
Just curious but how do you know it's actually lead paint? Have you tested it/had it tested?]
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