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So I’ve been living in our apartment in Texas for the past two years and it had been nothing but problems. I’ve finally been pushed over the edge now though. Both of the bathroom ceilings are leaking from the unit upstairs. This is the FOURTH time it has happened this year, and each previous time, the maintenance team just spray paints over the mold and wet stains on the ceiling. They never make an effort to see if there is possibly a broken pipe, or what exactly is causing this leaking issue. There is always some sort of excuse “oh the apartment is old, oh the neighbors upstairs flooded their tub”. Because of the mold issue stemming from the leaking, I haven’t used one of our bathrooms for like the past 6 months. I know when I complain to management for the fourth time this time, all they will do is spray paint the mold to cover the stains.
At this point I would just like to break my lease without paying a relet fee. I am prepared to call s city inspector to come look st the state the apartment is in. Is this realistic to expect someone to come out? Should I hire a lawyer? Just want to know what to do in order to have these apartment owners held accountable.
When does your lease end? What options does it provide for early termination?
Unless your lease gives you an easy option to leave, I would definitely call an inspector. Just plan on moving when the landlord doesn't renew your lease when the time comes.
Lease ends in Feb or March I believe. Theres nothing in there that is an "easy" way to break the lease, but the amount of times they've had to come out here to fix things (not even counting all this water leaking stuff) I think I may have a chance just asking if we can break it. Ill definitely call the city inspector today.
It may be easier to contact management first. Let them know you aren't happy, this isn't reasonable, for the rent you are paying you shouldn't have to put up with this much, etc. and just see how they respond.
It may be easier to contact management first. Let them know you aren't happy, this isn't reasonable, for the rent you are paying you shouldn't have to put up with this much, etc. and just see how they respond.
Will do.
Little update. I've come to the conclusion that the central A/C system is what is leaking. I turned off the air and about 15-20 mins later the leaking slowed down. As soon as I turn it back on, the leaking continues profusely again. I am curious as to why maintenance never looked at this issue. I'm sure they knew it was an a/c problem, but instead of trying to fix it to prevent these leaks and mold, they would just spray over the mold for a temporary fix. I ended up calling the city inspector yesterday and they said they would come out to look at the apartment in 10 days give or take, so I'm happy about that.
I'm going to tell management today about this leaking, but I think I'll leave out that I suspect it's the a/c, to see if they actually do their due diligence to fix the issue. Previously, they were able to get away with just "fixing" the mold issue, because the ceiling would have stopped leaking by the time they came out to look at it. This time though it has been leaking constantly when I have the a/c for the past couple days.
Also, in your guys experience, do apartment complex's normally save copies of all the work orders a specific apartment has had to file? I would love to get a copy of that for my own record. Wish I would have saved the ones I sent.
Last edited by Uconndoitt; 09-19-2018 at 06:11 AM..
I would tell them about the AC, it sounds like they need all the help they can get.
If they keep the records (which judging by how badly they are handling things, I'm guessing not), they probably wouldn't share them with you.
When AC units leak, it's usually because the drain and/or the pump is clogged (or the pump isn't plugged in or just isn't working). It should be a pretty easy fix for them.
I would follow up with management and tell them about the AC. Now that you seem to have an idea of the problem you can use that to follow the progress (or lack of) and if management isn't able to fix it then request to either move to a livable unit or be released from your lease.
Keep in mind that despite their titles, maintenance can be simply a over-glorified janitor and most of the apartments I've lived in they don't know much if any basic home repairs much less apartment/plumbing/electrical repairs. My current maintenance lead is a great guy, but my husband has made more repairs around here and honestly I wouldn't trust maintenance to do much correctly.
Keep a log of when you request the repairs and what the response/repairs are. I would also note and photograph any damages and possibly video record the leak itself. That way if maintenance or management try to argue it was all fixed or done a particular way you can show otherwise.
So I’ve been living in our apartment in Texas for the past two years and it had been nothing but problems. I’ve finally been pushed over the edge now though. Both of the bathroom ceilings are leaking from the unit upstairs. This is the FOURTH time it has happened this year, and each previous time, the maintenance team just spray paints over the mold and wet stains on the ceiling. They never make an effort to see if there is possibly a broken pipe, or what exactly is causing this leaking issue. There is always some sort of excuse “oh the apartment is old, oh the neighbors upstairs flooded their tub”. Because of the mold issue stemming from the leaking, I haven’t used one of our bathrooms for like the past 6 months. I know when I complain to management for the fourth time this time, all they will do is spray paint the mold to cover the stains.
At this point I would just like to break my lease without paying a relet fee. I am prepared to call s city inspector to come look st the state the apartment is in. Is this realistic to expect someone to come out? Should I hire a lawyer? Just want to know what to do in order to have these apartment owners held accountable.
I remember those days and it's more frustrating when the landlord sends "fake maintenance" men to fix a issue. I would just make plans to leave instead of reporting the same issue
I definitely understand your frustration with this whole issue, but I don't understand why you wouldn't share your findings -- the AC -- to help them fix the problem. Maintenance might be truly having a hard time finding the source of the problem, which could be the reason for the cover-up. (Not saying that's okay, but that's possibly why.)
Of course, as the one who lives there, you have a better idea of what's going on and what could be causing the problem. It's not really fair to know the (potential) cause of the problem and to not share it but then blame them for not figuring it out.
If I were you, I would give any information I know and give them a chance to fix it. Then, I'd probably just ride out the last four months of the lease and find another place to live (whether or not they fix the problem.)
Unfortunately, making big problems for your landlord is probably going to make big problems for you. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. If you start bringing in inspectors and making a big scene, your landlord is going to hate you. That means that you probably won't get out of the lease easily or cheaply. It also probably means that you won't have a good landlord reference, and finding another place is going to be hard.
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