My complex wont fix my apartment!

Question

What a problem ive had. I have lived here for about 4 or 5 months. When me and my fiance moved in i noticed, after a few days, that near the door the wall seemed to have some minor discoloration. I assumed it was from slight water damage, probably fixed cause we were having no problems.

Well recently, in that exact same spot, it started dripping water when it rains. Its around the sliding glass door, and it seems from the corner for about...2 or so feet, has been horribly discolored and just crumbles off onto the floor (drywall). In fact in some places i can put my finger completely through the top of the wall. Also going down it seems that the wall is cracking all the way down the length of the door frame.

On top of that, water seems to have leaked through the sliding glass door to completely soak the carpet near the door. Ive taken pictures of all the damage, including the carpet and under the carpet. My fiance has gone to the office 2 or 3 times. The first time they said they'd be by immediately, they never showed up. Then she went down there, they wrote her name down in some book, saying it would be taken care of by monday, well monday came and nobody showed. We've called multiple times to no avail.

I have a 10 month old son and im scared to death that mold is going to develop and hes going to get asthma. What can I do? I live in tampa florida so the rain is almost daily sometimes. I also work at night so it makes it hard for me to do much, as my schedule is a little wacko.

Also, my ice machine has been broken sense we've moved in. The maintenance guy came in, fiddled around with it, said it would be making ice in an hour. Turns out he didnt even do anything, the ice maker is in the same shape it was in when we moved in. Kinda gives you an idea of what im dealing with.

Answer 1

You need to find out who owns the building or the management company in charge of the on-site manager. That is where you need to go.

It sounds as though the on-site manager needs to go. Any property owner would want leaks repaired ASAP as mold can and will develop, expecially in warm humid areas.

Answer 2

You could call the city and ask for an inspection of your unit for mold. If they city writes them up, they will have a deadline to get it fixed or be fined.

What you might consider first is, taking the pictures to the office, having someone give you a signed receipt for them and a date and time when the problem will be repaired. If they don't show, you let them know you intend to file a formal complaint with the city health department siting a mold issue.    If they don't show, don't hesitate to file that complaint.  Also, you may want to begin looking for someplace else to live. This is good business management and there is telling what else they aren't taking care of.  

Answer 3

Try calling the "Eight on your side" people, or one of the other TV stations' help line.  Nobody likes bad publicity, maybe that'll get them moving.  I used to live in your area and your problem isn't at all unusual.  You have to protect your son's health, and I agree that the possibility of mold quite high.  

Answer 4

call the health department on the mold.

Answer 5

There is nothing you can do about the ice machine.

However with the water damage you will want to send a registered letter to the complex giving them a reasonable deadline to deal with the leak. about 30 days.   At the same point you may want to contact your local tenants rights board and determine if the situation is severe enough to force and escrow until the repair is complete.

Answer 6

Just keep on them to get the repairs done.  The wall issue might have to wait until you have some dry weather for a few days, although I'd have thought they would send someone around to at least confirm the damage.  

Don't stress out about mold, that will take a long time to develop to any dangerous degree.

As for the ice maker: give the repair guy some slack.  He looked it over, didn't find a specific problem probably, but did what he could.  That it didn't fix the full problem is just a matter of bad luck.  He can't tell if it's working until it runs a cycle, which is the hour he mentioned.  Get him back, he'll have a better idea what he already did, maybe he'll have another idea on what is happening.

Answer 7

1. Contact the leasing office to see if they'll make the repair and when.  Get the name of the person you talked to.  Contact the residential tenancy board in your area (it might be called something else where you live).  Sometimes you can pay rent directly to the board and the leasing company won't get its money until they make the repairs.

2. You can also call the health dept. who can force the landlord to make repairs if black mold is discovered.  This is a potential health hazard as you know.

3 If you get no satisfaction, change your locks, buy some "Stop Leak" aerosol and stop paying your rent.  You'll be able to hole up for 3 months and find a new place to live.