Ceiling Collapse

[mparris]

Approximately two weeks ago I moved in to an apartment is Park Slope. Last night, while watching television, I heard this crashing noise coming from the back of my apartment. I ran back to realize that the ceiling above the my radiator, below the radiator from the upstairs apartment, crashed down onto some of my belongings. The approximate size is 3 feet x 3 feet and getting bigger. Oh yea, water is dripping from the ceiling. I informed teh super and hopefully the problem will be taken care of. When I did notify him he seemed to already know what the problem was and wasn't shocked to hear what I had to say. Also, it looked as if this has been a problem in the past and was poorly fixed. My question is, I 've been in the place for two weeks, when a management company or realtor rents out an apartment, isn't the place suppose to pass inspection before it can be rented? Is there any action I can take? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[MikeW]

No. There is no 'pre-rental' inspection. The LL paints the place (if you're lucky) and rerents it.

I had this same problem in my old studio. The shower upstairs leaked, and the ceiling over my shower collapsed. This happened three or four times. Finally the guy upstairs moved out, and the gutted and renovated the bathroom, which solved the problem permanently (or at least till I left).

If they fix it promptly, well, that's all you can expect. You can try to lean on them to fix the underlying plumbing problem. I would take pictures and document the problem. If it happens again, threaten to withold rent till they fix the plumbing, and if they don't, and it keeps repeating, do withold rent. They'll haul you into housing court, where you show the judge your documentation, and offer pay the full rent if they fix the problem permanently. You'll probably get a stipulation to that effect, which may or may not force the LL to actually do something.

[Cranky Tenant]

Similar story here. My radiator has been leaking for years. Two years ago the maintainance people turned the valve and declared it "fixed" even though it continued to leave a puddle of hot water running across the floor.

It must have finally caused some damage downstairs because when the heat came on this fall, the LL suddenly wanted to fix it.

Most likely your super has known about the leak for some time .

<small>[ December 11, 2002, 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Cranky Tenant ]</small>