My name is Kelly and I've got a real problem here...
I've lived in the same apartment with my boyfriend for three years, but for the last year and a half, we've noticed that there is a pretty significant leak coming from the shower in the apartment above us. It basically leaked every time our upstairs neighbors took a shower. When they moved out over a year ago, the leak stopped, but the moisture was still very much there. When we first noticed the leak, we discussed it with the apartment manager and maintenance. Nothing was done. This last summer, the management was changed, along with all of the other staff. We mentioned it to the new management and still, nothing was done. I guess they figured that as long as there wasn't an active leak, it wasn't important. Around the end of summer, we discovered that we were going to have a new upstairs neighbor, and brought the leak up to management again, hoping that something would be done now that the leak was going to be active again. Let me just say that at this point, the ceiling above our shower, which was directly underneath the upstairs shower- where the leak was- was literally falling apart. We noticed mold in several places and consistently found small chunks of ceiling in our shower. After some more pestering ((at this point we had gotten pretty worried, as I was very pregnant and we really felt as though the upstairs shower could just come through our ceiling)) the maintenance finally came, cut a hole in the ceiling, stopped the leak, and patched the hole up. A couple of months ago, we noticed that the mold was getting worse, and spreading, so we began mentioning it to the management staff again, but again, got no real help. Two weeks ago, our upstairs neighbor's toilet overflowed- and I only knew that because it leaked through he vent and one of the worst mold spots on our bathroom ceiling. We called the front office, let them know what was going on, and they sent some maintenance guys to take pictures of the mold and to spray it. It's still there, getting worse, and now our ceiling leaks every time our neighbor flushes.
Our complex as a whole has many flaws, and I'm usually incredibly understanding and able to overlook these things. But when it gets to the point where it's becoming a health issue, especially with a two month old baby, I begin to wonder if we shouldn't take this problem to someone other than management. I've had asthma-like symptoms ever since my last couple of months of pregnancy, and I've NEVER had asthma before.
We DID mention the possibility of them moving us into another apartment in the complex, so that they could do the proper work in order to fix this problem once and for all, and then rent it out after they were done at the regular rate ((we're paying a reduced rate for being long-standing residents, which was established before the new management came in)). We were told that it would be breaking contract and that we would lose our $600 deposit as well as having to start all over for the new apartment.
What should we do??
I've lived in the same apartment with my boyfriend for three years, but for the last year and a half, we've noticed that there is a pretty significant leak coming from the shower in the apartment above us. It basically leaked every time our upstairs neighbors took a shower. When they moved out over a year ago, the leak stopped, but the moisture was still very much there. When we first noticed the leak, we discussed it with the apartment manager and maintenance. Nothing was done. This last summer, the management was changed, along with all of the other staff. We mentioned it to the new management and still, nothing was done. I guess they figured that as long as there wasn't an active leak, it wasn't important. Around the end of summer, we discovered that we were going to have a new upstairs neighbor, and brought the leak up to management again, hoping that something would be done now that the leak was going to be active again. Let me just say that at this point, the ceiling above our shower, which was directly underneath the upstairs shower- where the leak was- was literally falling apart. We noticed mold in several places and consistently found small chunks of ceiling in our shower. After some more pestering ((at this point we had gotten pretty worried, as I was very pregnant and we really felt as though the upstairs shower could just come through our ceiling)) the maintenance finally came, cut a hole in the ceiling, stopped the leak, and patched the hole up. A couple of months ago, we noticed that the mold was getting worse, and spreading, so we began mentioning it to the management staff again, but again, got no real help. Two weeks ago, our upstairs neighbor's toilet overflowed- and I only knew that because it leaked through he vent and one of the worst mold spots on our bathroom ceiling. We called the front office, let them know what was going on, and they sent some maintenance guys to take pictures of the mold and to spray it. It's still there, getting worse, and now our ceiling leaks every time our neighbor flushes.
Our complex as a whole has many flaws, and I'm usually incredibly understanding and able to overlook these things. But when it gets to the point where it's becoming a health issue, especially with a two month old baby, I begin to wonder if we shouldn't take this problem to someone other than management. I've had asthma-like symptoms ever since my last couple of months of pregnancy, and I've NEVER had asthma before.
We DID mention the possibility of them moving us into another apartment in the complex, so that they could do the proper work in order to fix this problem once and for all, and then rent it out after they were done at the regular rate ((we're paying a reduced rate for being long-standing residents, which was established before the new management came in)). We were told that it would be breaking contract and that we would lose our $600 deposit as well as having to start all over for the new apartment.
What should we do??
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