Upstairs neighbors trashing apartment (apartments, lease, tenants)

[vectorfrankel]

Hey guys, I havent been to this site in a while, and I've only lived in the bay area (haight street) for about a year now.

I've moved into an apartment, my first apartment, and I have some issues. The landlord is pretty careless, and I figured someone here might have a better idea.

My upstairs neighbors throw their trash straight out the window, landing on nearby fire escapes and lower roofs, creating a breeding ground for mosquitos, and it's just generally really unpleasant living eye level with trash. Also, I'm pretty sure they're stealing packages from me when packages are being left outside of my door.

Would this be something to goto the landlord/break the lease about, or is this solely between myself and them? I don't really know what to turn to, or where to look regarding CA state laws and apartments. I just don't want to live surrounded by trash any longer. It's creating a mosquito breeding ground, and I've read elsewhere on the internet that mosquitos are rare in SF? I get a few in my apartment almost everyday if I leave the window open for about an hour..

(Also, the heaters broken, we have a rodent problem, and the apartment wasn't cleaned up or anything before I moved in. Isn't the landlord supposed to take care of this?)

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by saturdayskids

Hey guys, I havent been to this site in a while, and I've only lived in the bay area (haight street) for about a year now.

I've moved into an apartment, my first apartment, and I have some issues. The landlord is pretty careless, and I figured someone here might have a better idea.

My upstairs neighbors throw their trash straight out the window, landing on nearby fire escapes and lower roofs, creating a breeding ground for mosquitos, and it's just generally really unpleasant living eye level with trash. Also, I'm pretty sure they're stealing packages from me when packages are being left outside of my door.

Would this be something to goto the landlord/break the lease about, or is this solely between myself and them? I don't really know what to turn to, or where to look regarding CA state laws and apartments. I just don't want to live surrounded by trash any longer. It's creating a mosquito breeding ground, and I've read elsewhere on the internet that mosquitos are rare in SF? I get a few in my apartment almost everyday if I leave the window open for about an hour..

(Also, the heaters broken, we have a rodent problem, and the apartment wasn't cleaned up or anything before I moved in. Isn't the landlord supposed to take care of this?)

Welcome to SF living! Maybe you can find answers on this site http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?...g/tenantrights

This might be of some help http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/l...problems.shtml

When I was looking for a place to live before I moved out here I was astounded by the trashy places that were for rent...it seemed like I was looking at places you would find in run down third world countries. Most places in SF are complete dumps unless you pay astronomically for a small (lucky if modern) place.

[mayorhaggar]

I would try and get the landlord involved. Take a close look at your lease and see what it says. There should be something about the landlord keeping the common areas clean. There might be something about vermin too. If the landlord refuses to do anything I would try and move out, try talking to the SF tenants association (I'm not sure about the name) and they might have some resources you can look at, they helped a friend of mine several years ago who was getting screwed by rent by the other tenants at his place--they showed him a law saying that the portion of rent has to be divided up a certain way that they were violating.

As for packages, get them delivered to work or to a PO Box that is safe. The post office and FedEx refuse to leave packages at most apartment buildings so I just have them deliver it to me at work.

[vectorfrankel]

Yeah, I have to tell my relatives my work address, etc. Thanks for the reminder!

I will definitely check out the lease again and have a discussion with this SF tenants association (ill google it and figure it out from there), thanks so much for your advice, guys

[sonarrat]

It always blows my mind what trashy (literally) people there are living in such a great city. It's sad really. And people my age wonder why I prefer the 'burbs.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

It always blows my mind what trashy (literally) people there are living in such a great city. It's sad really.

Then again, it is the Haight.

Maybe some folks are trying to revive some kind of Old European urban vibe. If they start pooring buckets of poo out into the street, I would say the hypothesis is confirmed.

[turbored]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Then again, it is the Haight.

Maybe some folks are trying to revive some kind of Old European urban vibe. If they start pooring buckets of poo out into the street, I would say the hypothesis is confirmed.

They skip the middle man and just poo on the street.

[dlyoung123]

Oh Yuck! Thats disgusting! Have you considered contacting the city housing dept? Since this clearly would be a violation of city health/safety ordinances. Also if somebody is deliberately just throwing it out the window or off the balcony? I would consider bringing the police in. Since this would surely be a violation of the laws against littering. Plus its dangerous for anyone walking past down below.

[Jasmine658]

We had similar situation with building I managed in Mission District of SF - graffiti & cigarette butts - thousands of cigarette butts thrown out on building roof top. The tenants didn't say anything, but I asked the owners of the building next to us to send some maintenance crew up to clean the roof-top of their building to clean up the view which consisted of far too many thousands of cigarettes, even though the cigarettes originated from our building. They did that right away when I asked them!

Unfortunately, as a landlord and building manager, tenants shy away far too much about bringing these issues up. The landlord can do many things to help, as well as the building manager. Just sit down, type a note, send e-mail to your landlord or building manger, and voila, things will be FIXED! Always please mention things that bother you. A landlord would much rather make their tenants happy than have a tenant move because something so much as having to view trash from an adjacent property. If your heaters aren't working, please contact your landlord right away. Speak up! If the landlord is elderly or unable to help for some other reason (sometimes they are out of state for example), go to other sources for help, such as the RENT BOARD! But please start by contacting your landlord. Don't assume they know the situation, as they often don't live on-site.