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Posted by Amy on October 28, 1998 at 14:24:25:

In Reply to: fire safety posted by Chendra on October 20, 1998 at 16:44:05:

: I do not have access to a working fire escape. There is a old, decrepid terrace that is unsafe to stand upon. I've called the department of housing but they insist upon revealing my name to the landlady if i complain. i don't know what to do. i love my apartment but i can't deal with the idea of a fire- also the fire alarms don't work. yesterday, i had a huge argument with my landlady about the issue in which she said, if you don't like it, you can leave, and she repeated that many times.
: should i buy a fire ladder and just bite the costs, take it out of my rent, or what? How can I get an inspector to come by and inspect the building w/o implicating me?

If your building is stabilized I would definitely complain. You should not let her get away with that. I believe that with holding rent is a leagal way to get things done, there is a web site (http://tenant.net/faq.txt) that states "Under the Warranty of Habitability, tenants frequently seek rent abatements by withholding rental payments, in order to get a service restored or a defective condition corrected. If there is a need for an emergency repair that the owner refuses to address, tenants may also contract privately to have the repair done, and then deduct the cost from the rent.

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Comments:
: : I do not have access to a working fire escape.  There is a old, decrepid terrace that is unsafe to stand upon.  I've called the department of housing but they insist upon revealing my name to the landlady if i complain.  i don't know what to do.  i love my apartment but i can't deal with the idea of a fire- also the fire alarms don't work.  yesterday, i had a huge argument with my landlady about the issue in which she said, if you don't like it, you can leave, and she repeated that many times.
: : should i buy a fire ladder and just bite the costs, take it out of my rent, or what? How can I get an inspector to come by and inspect the building w/o implicating me?

: If your building is stabilized I would definitely complain.  You should not let her get away with that.  I believe that with holding rent is a leagal way to get things done, there is a web site (http://tenant.net/faq.txt) that states "Under the Warranty of Habitability, tenants frequently seek rent abatements by withholding rental payments, in order to get a service restored or a defective condition corrected. If there is a need for an emergency repair that the owner refuses to address, tenants may also contract privately to have the repair done, and then deduct the cost from the rent. 


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