dealing with apartment management

[poetry_writer]

Any tips on dealing with apartment management that simply quits doing their job? Mine is a nice but simple and small apartment, clean and well kept usually, although older. New management came on board recently. They refuse to do the basics. They talk very politely and quietly and repeat certain phrases over and over. Example, I have bugs of some kind. "We have regular scheduled pest control and we put notices on the door". They are not doing it regularly and any complaints are answered with them simply repeating themselves ..."but we do pest control regularly". Similar issues are occurring and I've tried going to office in person, which did NOT go well and ended with me yelling, for which i apologized. But they simply smile and repeat themselves and then do....nothing. They also lie .."he will be here Thursday"......"He will be here Friday".....no one comes.................. Any tips for dealing with bulls**t tactics like this? thanks.

[Tammy]

I would go up the chain of command ... Contact the owner. Then contact local news and health department. If that doesnt work, i'd move.

[SteveinMN]

You also can check your city/county/state phone book/Web site (which one depends on where you live) to find what jurisdiction regulates apartments/landlords/tenants/etc. Be aware that some states (mine, for example) are pretty weak when it comes to tenant rights, so there may not be a lot of relief there. But you certainly will find out what the landlord/management company is required to do for you.

[Miss Cellane]

What Steve said. What your landlord has to do varies from state to state, and some cities and local governments have their own rules. Goggle "[your state] landlord tenant law".

Also, check your lease. Some of what the landlord has to do may be spelled out there.

About the bugs specifically--if they really are treating the building, ask them if they are treating the whole, entire building every time. It only take one tenant refusing to let them in to spray (or whatever they do) to keep the bugs around. If the lease says they will treat for bugs, the tenants have to let them in. But also, get your own bug treatment and use that in your apartment.

Also for the bugs, check local codes for cleanliness and bugs. Sometimes this one issue has regulations that aren't under landlord/tenant law.

Ask to see proof that the building has been treated for bugs--a receipt from the pest control company, for example. Ask to see their schedule for pest treatment.

If you can't talk to someone in charge, start sending letters, not emails. Send them so that someone has to sign for them. There may even be information on this in your state's regulations--that letters must be sent a certain way, certified mail or something, if the matter is important.

Keep a record of everything. Every phone call, every email, every visit to the office and what was said. If you are told Mr. Big will be there Friday at nine, and you show up at 8:45 and wait until 9:30 and he never shows and the staff can't seem to locate him, record that.

When all that doesn't work, see if you can find any contact information for the owner of the building, and send them a nice letter letting them know their investment property is going downhill--the bugs, repairs aren't being done, etc. But only things that you can prove, from your extensive documentation.

Getting the media involved might be an option, especially if the bugs are bedbugs. People are paranoid about those.

As a last resort, after you have tried absolutely everything else and it's been *months*, I have found that mentioning getting a lawyer involved can get some action. But if you mention the lawyer right away, they think you are bluffing. Put up with their nonsense long enough, and they realize that they have pushed you to the brink and you are serious about the lawyer and they usually act on the matter.

[poetry_writer]

Thanks for the advice. The appt manager went so far as to say "oh but those kind of bugs are not really harmful".....I dont care! I dont want them crawling all over me. I think the best approach is email, then I wont be dealing with a condescending smile . They are quite passive aggressive lol. The rent is reasonable for my area (I got an unusual deal where I do not pay electric) so I hate to move. Its odd that a they would do this with someone whos lived there two years, paid her rent on time every single month. I rubbed one of the employees the wrong way and get the feeling its being done deliberately. Maybe I'm just paranoid on this, but this particular employee is one i refuse to deal with anymore. She also lives there, and I feel uncomfortable knowing she has access to my apartment (the office has keys of course). Thanks everyone.

[Lainey]

One other idea: I've done this twice with house-related service companies, but when they would not respond I contacted their insurance company. The companies were licensed and most importantly, bonded, meaning an insurance company is on the hook for their misdeeds or neglect. When I found out who their insurer was and contacted the insurer with my complaint, they immediately called the service companies. Boy, they weren't happy about it, but guess what - my work got done.

[iris lily]

What exactly are the kind of bugs? I suspect that several on this board would rather live with non-harmful bugs than have insecticides indiscriminately sprayed all around.

For instance: ants. Some summers we get them, some we don't. Sometimes they go away on their own after a short time, sometimes they don't. Rarely, when they make a path into our food sources, we have to do something about them with chemicals or thoughtful re-directing.

I don't want fleas, bedbugs, roaches. I will put up with those creepy crawly centipede things, which we have all over our basement. I welcome all spiders. I don't mind ants sometimes, they can be very interesting.

[poetry_writer]

What exactly are the kind of bugs? I suspect that several on this board would rather live with non-harmful bugs than have insecticides indiscriminately sprayed all around.

For instance: ants. Some summers we get them, some we don't. Sometimes they go away on their own after a short time, sometimes they don't. Rarely, when they make a path into our food sources, we have to do something about them with chemicals or thoughtful re-directing.

I don't want fleas, bedbugs, roaches. I will put up with those creepy crawly centipede things, which we have all over our basement. I welcome all spiders. I don't mind ants sometimes, they can be very interesting.

I dont want anything crawling around my house. I sometimes have friends with babies we plop down on blankets. Spiders here can be poisonous. I have pesticides either. a necessary evil sometimes in Texas, where our critters are often "not friendly"

[iris lily]

ah, Texas bugs. Well, there are some evil ones down there, that's for sure.