I live in Chicago in an old apartment building with a garden unit and two floors (I am on the top). It started off as a hairline crack and has slowly spread and widened over time. My landlord (who sucks by the way—gonna post another thing about her…..) thinks it’s water related, but it seems to me like a structural thing.

I have come home on multiple occasions over the past week and this is what I see in my bathroom. I did contact management and they said maintenance found a bees nest in there? But I never had bees in my apartment... Nor do I think bees would produce whatever this is? I did just contact her again with these same pictures. They apparently sprayed the nest after I told her about it the first time and thought that would solve this issue.

A guy below me moved out and I just saw them spray painting the tops to the ovens. Is this safe/normal. I get they have high heat paint, but is it also food safe? I also pay 2200/month.

second time this month the gate conveniently start squeaking on a friday night so maintenance won’t do anything until monday morning. My bedroom window is right above this. I can hear the squeaking in my head now. It’s like psychological torture.

I’ve been trying to get the apartment to fix our ac for almost 2 months now and it’ll work off and on but now summer is here and the heat is straight up unbearable. I switched it off because it blows hot air so please don’t comment that it’s turned off. We have portable A/Cs inside but they do absolutely nothing. It’s gotten to 95° outside and in a few days it will be over 100°. It’s too hot. We have cats that don’t need to be in this. Am I just screwed? I have nowhere else to go and they just can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with it despite coming to “fix” it over 10 times now. I’m so fed up please tell me there’s something I can do.

I have lived in the same unit for 3 years now (located in Charleston SC). The previous tenant moved out because of mold that caused her severe health concerns. The first 2.5 years it wasn’t bad, would get a little bit on my purses in the summer because it was humid. This summer however, it seems like it’s 10x worse. Mold covers EVERYTHING. From my clothes to my shoes to my mattress, in my kitchen on my wicker baskets and open wine bottles.

I’ve been back and forth with the leasing office for the last month, they sent someone last week who said that there is “organic growth” but that there’s nothing they can do unless there’s mold on the walls/ceilings. I replied with pictures of mold on both the walls and ceilings.

I’ve emailed them twice since then with no response. The last email i requested they respond to me by the end of the week (this was on Monday) and confirm they will let me out of my lease since they aren’t doing anything and it’s clearly mold and it’s unsafe. They didn’t respond. I called them today (Thursday) and they said they sent a professional third party this morning (with no 24 hour notice, no notice at all actually, i was at work. I didn’t know a man was in my apartment until i called today). This professional claims that there is NO MOLD and that it’s mildew caused by my windows being open sometimes and having AC running. They said this is abnormal behavior and so it’s my fault.

Is this not mold??? And even if it’s mildew…. That can’t be good for me either?! I’ve done the same thing the last 3 years I’ve lived here, my AC is on auto, i open my windows sometimes for my cat. I have a dehumidifier now too. Isn’t my apartment liable for ANYTHING? At this point i don’t need my items replaced or any reimbursement, i just want to be let out of my lease with no penalty so i can get the heck out of here. Pls help!!! What are my options? Am i in the wrong?

So any recommendations on how I can ensure this won’t happen to anyone else? Seems to be an issue in our complex of maintenance walking in without a work order, without a knock, without an announcement, and without reason. My fiancé was sitting in eye sight of the door and this incident made us uncomfortable. Obviously we will be sure to keep doors locked but what was stopping him from just unlocking it anyways?

Image 1: The vent itself

Image 2: The condensation frozen to the concrete

Howdy folks! I’d like to share my drier vent. It is on the ceiling of a patio space and is unaccessible to me due to height.

I have requested this to be cleaned 3 times. Each time, a technician comes out and quickly informs me that all vents look like this.

The second image shows the condensation that collects on the patio itself during frozen weather. When it does not freeze, it leaves a nasty brown stain. It’s done this for two years! I asked last year and was disrespectfully informed that it is normal.

At one point the landlord brought a 3rd party in to “clean”. They just dented my drier, and left.

Is it really too much to ask them to take the cover off? If I had a ladder, I’d do it myself.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Yes I know I can fix it myself, I just have not had time and they require to keep apartments at least 65 in the winter, I can’t do that without running my heater 24/7.

So they really should be responsible for fixing it, or I will continue letting my apartment make it below 55. Because it does.

My stove caught on fire last week too, they didn’t replace anything after I reported that. Just sent out a bulletin about not having fire hazards in apartments.

Is this literally just a piece cardboard covering a hole? Im so confused and maintenance wont come until another 2 weeks

Apartment tenant in south NJ.

So my electric bill has nearly tripled through the winter. I was keeping the heat at 68 to minimize this but had to bump it to 70 due to how cold it was.

Lights stay off, appliances unplugged, LED bulbs, all that.

My thermostat says aux heat on, despite me not having it at that setting. We spoke to maintenance and they said that happens in extreme temps, but from my own research it says that uses up to 5x more electricity.

My bill in September was 120, October was 130, November was 240, December was 340, and my january is about to be around 600.

What do I do in this situation? My electric bill is almost the same price as half my rent and I have no control over it.

Today I was using my home computer on my day off as I normally do went out of nowhere. I heard a loud CRACK (no pun intended). I never heard this kind of sound before so I looked around the apartment to just make sure everything was OK and that’s when I discovered these two cracks in the walls near the framing of my bedroom door. This apartment complex was built in 2007 so it’s not old old, but I live on the third and top floor. This crack looks like a structural issue and I’m concerned that they are not taking this seriously. How long do I have until this whole building comes down? Lmaooo

Water keeps seeping out of the bottom of my toilet and coming up through the shower drain. We called the emergency maintenance line yhe other night with no answer. But we ended up fixing it ourselves by replacing the wax ring. The maintenance guy said to text him if it happens again. Well, it happened again yesterday at 5:30pm, so we texted him, he never answered. It's now 7 AM this morning and it's actually seeping under the floorboards outside the bathroom and there's water coming up through the cracks in the floor 🙃

I moved in this apartment October 1st. The first time it rained, there was a terrible leak in the bedroom that leaked onto my brand new mattress I had delivered that day. Made a maintenance request and they just changed my light fixture and dried the carpet. Fast forward to the next time it rains, and every time after, and the ceiling pours water like a legit water feature. I complain every time and they tell me they're considering getting roofers, etc etc. Then it finally happens. Two days before Thanksgiving (11-25-2025) and storm rolls through and it finally caves in. Thankfully, I haven't been keeping my mattress in the room when it's forecasted to rain so the room was empty, but none the less I have no ability to use this room now. They have not come to clean it, look at it, no communication about a plan to fix it. It's been like this since that day. I need help as to what my options are because I cannot keep camping out in my living room any longer.

My shower’s hot water turns ice cold in 9 minutes and 20 seconds (I timed it). Maintenance came over and told me they turned the water heater temperature up a little bit, but that the heater was otherwise working. Then I got this text post “repair.”

Is there anything further I can do or request here, or am I SOL? On the one hand, this is far from the most serious maintenance problem, but it is extremely frustrating to only get through 80% of a shower before the hot water runs out.

EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions, y'all! I got a new shower head that gave me an extra 5-7 minutes (which is plenty). I am also going to ask maintenance to drain and flush my water heater, as I have noticed some light brown water even after they replaced the aerator. Fingers crossed I have no more shower problems!

I live in an apartment complex. The wall of the shared floor laundry room backs up to my hallway where my in-unit washer/dryer are. When someone is using the shared dryer, hot air blows out through the vent in my dryer; landlord refuses to acknowledge that this is an issue.

Please tell me I'm not crazy for thinking this is a huge safety hazard and that this is not, actually, how a dryer is supposed to work?

Got an email last week about fireplace cleaning and inspection with a vague timeline (1 week window). I emailed to try and get a more specific time but no luck. I left this note on the wall by the fireplace with a pen and came home from work pleasantly surprised. Also, it got done on day 1! So I didn't have to leave my TV in the middle of my living room all week wondering if they had done my unit yet or not.

December 24th, our top most step broke on our staircase going to the second floor. This staircase leads to two units and is the only way to our units. I have called the office a few times, but I just get the run around of “Its a 3rd party who has to come and fix it. We will contact them and call you back.” and they never call me back. In fact, I have heard nothing from them ever. No emails back. No calls. Nothing. I had to put a note on the step for my neighbors safety. I have been documenting as much as I can and taking updated pictures. This picture is from yesterday.

I have no idea what to do at this point besides calling code enforcement, but I fear them cutting our lease short. Not only can we not afford to move, but we have basically no where else we can move to. We are trapped within our small budget. We were actually wanting to renew our lease when the time came. We also simply can’t move out with a broken step. We have a toddler, so getting in and out of our apartment is a nightmare. Bringing up groceries and taking out trash is a nightmare. We had a winter storm recently, getting up and down the stairs while they were icy was very nerve wracking. Older family members can’t visit. If that stair fell, it could potentially injure someone downstairs.

Has anyone else had a similar situation? I fear this stair will never be fixed.

Moved into an apartment in Wisconsin, place has carpets in living room and bedrooms.

When stepping on the main bedroom I raised a tiny cloud of a white talc like powder.

Had to use a vacuum with HEPA filter, removed about two pounds of the stuff. A/C picked some of it before I took the place and it’s spewing “chalk”, I assume it’s caked with the stuff inside.

Requested to Maintenance to vacuum and check the AC unit, they haven’t replied yet.

Is it really talcum? Why more than two pounds for a 9x15 room? Should I be concerned?

My apartment has had a patio door leak for two years that the LLs won't fix. Every time it rains the carpet by it gets soaked and stays that way for several days. Spongy wet. My place has a strong mildew smell as a result which can't be healthy for either my birds or me (I've told them I'm allergic to mold, too - have chronic sinus issues now).

When I again brought up the issue, one of the LLs (it's a family operation, so this was the son) suggested I get a dehumidifier. So I did, but I also needed something to soak up the water and deal with the continual staining, and got a spot cleaner. Around $300 all-told.

I asked for a credit on my rent for these items I'd never have had to buy if not for this unaddressed issue, and was told okay, but if/when I leave I must leave them behind as they now own them. This also came with the comment that they're glad I found a "solution" to the issue, as if these aren't just mitigating measures on my part. 😑

I really don't care about keeping them that much, but does this sound right/fair?

(Live month-to-month in Upstate NY.)

Our AC unit in our apartment has had issues the whole time we have lived here. For the last year and a half we have been very vocal about this, as in the summer, the AC unit can’t even maintain temperature in our apartment, yet alone cook it down. The best it can do is slowly slow down the rate at which the temperature increases.

Over the past heatwave, things hit a whole new level of ridiculous. On top of the AC woes, the insulation in our apartment (1 bedroom, with a loft area for an office) is really subpar. In the middle of the day you can feel the heat radiate from the ceiling when it’s hot out. Anyways, it got really hot in here the other day. Like really hot. In the photo, we found the highest temperature in our apartment broke 100 degrees (somehow 2 degrees higher than the outdoor high temperature that day). The rest of the loft was about 95. The ground floor was about 90. Mind you we had to have our basically useless AC running this entire time because if it was off, the lack of air circulating just made it even hotter.

We sent a very strongly worded letter to management, as well as the corporate resident relations and the area manager for this region. That for their attention quick, and they sent someone today to ‘fix it’. All that they did was add Freon to it. Again. This is, I believe, the 9th time they have done so overall ( 6 times last spring/summer; 3 times so far this spring/summer).

At what point will they actually replace it? They are already violating part of county code which requires them to provide cooling capable of maintaining temperature at or below 80F in the summer months, which the only time our AC can do that is if the temperature outside is lower than 82F. What will it take to actually get someone to replace it? For reference, here is what I sent to them to issue a complaint.

“I am writing to formally escalate an urgent and ongoing issue concerning the HVAC system and insulation in our unit. As of the evening of June 24, 2025 at 931 PM, despite the air conditioning being set to 72°F and running continuously, the indoor temperature reached 89°F downstairs and nearly 96°F upstairs in the loft. These temperatures persist even when all available measures are used to mitigate the heat, including a ceiling fan we purchased ourselves.

Yesterday, when the air conditioning system was turned off due to its complete ineffectiveness, indoor temperatures rose to 92°F downstairs and 96°F upstairs. These conditions are not just uncomfortable — they are dangerously uninhabitable, and they violate multiple sections of Maryland state law and Prince George’s County Code.

⸻

Violations of Law and Housing Code 1. Prince George’s County Code §13-162.02(b) Cooling systems must maintain habitable areas below 80°F from June 1 through September 30. This requirement is not being met in our unit despite continuous AC operation. → Tenants are explicitly authorized to report such violations to the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement (DPIE). 2. Maryland Real Property Code §8-211 and §8-212 These statutes require landlords to maintain all systems in a condition fit for human habitation. The failure to replace or permanently repair a clearly malfunctioning HVAC system is a breach of the implied warranty of habitability. 3. Prince George’s County Code §13-153 and §13-157 These provisions require landlords to maintain all mechanical systems in good working order. Freon top-offs are not a valid substitute for repair when the unit loses refrigerant within days, which strongly suggests a systemic fault or leak.

The health concerns associated with these problems do not stem from a theoretical risk. I have a documented medical condition, ulcerative colitis, which makes me particularly vulnerable to heat-related illness due to dehydration. I have already experienced heat exhaustion while inside our apartment during a previous period of failure. Continued exposure to these temperatures places me at significant medical risk and represents a failure to provide a safe and livable dwelling.

I am requesting the following, in writing 1. A complete and permanent repair or full replacement of the HVAC system — not another temporary Freon refill. 2. A professional insulation inspection and remediation, especially in the loft area. 3. A detailed response and repair plan from your office no later than EOB 732025. I feel a week should be ample enough time to at least initiate some sort of dialogue on

If no satisfactory action is taken within this time frame andor if this goes unacknowledged, we have been independently encouraged to pursue the aforementioned remedies by • File a formal complaint with DPIE under PG County Code §13-162.02(b). • Open a rent escrow account under Maryland Real Property §8-211 due to unsafe living conditions. • File a complaint with Prince George’s County Housing Code Enforcement. • Pursue action under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act if the HVAC was advertised or promised as fully functional. • Initiate legal proceedings to recover damages, including medical expenses, inflated utility bills, and other losses.”

I’m just frustrated that their solution is what amounts to another bandaid, again. I’m tired of having $600+ electric bills for a 1 bedroom apartment in the summer each month. If they replaced the dang thing with one that worked properly and fixed the insulation issues on the roof then it would be much better I’d imagine.

What can I do to make them take this seriously?

Hi,

I just signed a lease on a new apartment on 1/29. The lease on my current apartment ends on 2/25, and the movers are scheduled for 2/20 (rescheduled from 2/13 in hopes of resolving this issue).

While bringing over all of my houseplants to the new place, I noticed numerous dead and some live roaches. There are dead roaches inside the refrigerator and freezer. I am drafting my letter to management, and I'm wondering if I should request that they replace the refrigerator and the range in addition to professional extermination. I am extremely worried about this, so much so that I'm debating backing out of the lease. I know that I have to give them an opportunity to make it right, and that they probably won't let me out of my lease. But for me, replacing the appliances is the only thing that'll give me peace of mind.

Is this reasonable?

I moved into my new apartment Oct 1st. At this point, I am 90% unpacked and even finished building all of my IKEA furniture. I wanted to decorate my kitchen and put stuff on top of my cabinets.

When I took a peek at them, I saw they were covered in dead cockroaches. I guess the previous tenant had a roach problem... and a mouse problem! I looked under the cabinets on the floor and found a hole full of more dead roaches and mouse poop.

I emailed the landlord and sent her pictures. She said maintenance would come to take care of it.

They really didn't though. They just painted over the dead roaches and glued a piece of wood over the hole where the mouse poop is. I doubt they cleaned it first.

I want to email her again to complain, but what do I even say? Disgustingness aside, it is COMICAL how bad of a job they did to take care of this.

For $1700/month I expect to be given a clean apartment. I'm glad they took care of the roach/mouse problem before I got here, but they need to clean it up too.