Renting & Mantainence - Renters Rights

@sedel1027 (17846)
Cupertino, California
September 14, 2006 11:15pm CST
This evening, I walked out of my shower to find my air conditioning intake with the vent & filter removed. Really confused I called my management and left a message. Before they could call me back, a maintence guy shows up saying there is an A/C leak downstairs and he knocked but no one answered (which I doubt b/c my son didn't wake up and my cats were not freaking out). He figured no one was home (at 10:45 at night) and let him self in. All he did was clean the drain on the A/C was in & out in under 5 minutes. Now I get that they need to be able to come in for an emergency. Tha maintence man even said that this really wasn't one and the leak had been occuring and no one said anything. My gripe - why did no one call me? They have an answering service that took the call, called management and dispersed the maintence guy and they couldn't call me? We do keep weapons in the home and odds are that if I would have seen him when I got out of the shower or if my fiance would have come home with a stranger in the apartment he would have been injured before any questions were asked. Two months ago something similiar happened to my aunt who lives in the same complex. Her water heater leaked to the apartment below, she was in the back bedroom with the TV on, door closed with her two dogs. They started barking and she thought they hear something outside. Then she heard a noise in the house and she pulled gun on the guy. Same situation, the guy knocked, but she didn't hear it. Do you think they should have called, or just let the guy come over and knock? What if something did happen to him, who would be liable?
3 responses
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
24 Aug 07
When Hubby and I first met he had an apartment that we lived in while he was trying to get transfered. One morning I got up, went in to take a shower and came out wrapped only in a towel to see the maintence guy hanging around the hallway near the bathroom. He claimed he came by to drop off a receipt and thought no one was home. I was furious and raised h*ll with the manager. From then on, and even now, I keep the screen door locked as well as the inside door. AT PEACE WITHIN
• United States
24 Jul 07
Cool this is something I know alittle about. When I worked in maintence and if something was going to that needed fixed right away like a leak. I would be sent to the door by the mgr. The first thing I did was to knock on the door. I would knock 3 or 4 times before I would even open the door. After I open the door then I would yell into the apartment "maintence!! Is anyone here?!!!". If we did not get an answer then if not animals in the apartment we prop the door open with a sign on the door that states something like maintence personal in apartment. Of animals are in the apartment we, out of respect have to close the door with the sign on the door. For the most part we always had two maintence personal at a time in an apartment for the safter of both staff and renter. You may want to speak to the mgr about maybe doing it this way. Not all the time will you get an answer on the phone. And the job of the maintence is not only to repair, but also to reduce the risk of damage to the building and to the belongings of other renters. In Florida in the case of emergencys, a manager or maintence personal have the right to enter a renter's unit to lessen the damages to the building or other apartments and belongings.
25 Sep 06
Calling would always be best, not only is it polite! I mean I'd be wary to open my door to anyone at 11 at night without knowing who they were.