(no subject)
May. 26th, 2018 07:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsI write this post from a lovely AirBNB five minutes away from my erstwhile home, where I have the luxury of four actual bedroom walls, a kitchen, no strangers wandering into my house at 7 AM, and no risk of lead poisoning.
Some of you may have questions about this statement, to which I respond: it's been KIND OF A MONTH AND A HALF.
The short version: our landlords seem to have forgotten that Massachusetts has tenant laws and have been up to some wildly illegal construction shenanigans in an inhabited apartment. However - with the assistance of an extremely good tenant lawyer - we shall soon be receiving a settlement offer and will be moving to a new apartment as soon as they clean the lead dust off our stuff.
The long version is
Part One: The Imaginary Fourth
At this time of writing, May 26th, it has been:
- seven weeks since my roommates and I were offered the opportunity to renew our lease for September of this year, at a reasonable rent hike of $50/month
- six weeks since we were informed that the homeowner planned to renovate our kitchen and possibly install an extra bathroom in our laundry room
- also six weeks since we laughed uproariously at the notion that this complete kitchen renovation would be completed in '7-10 days'
- also six weeks since the management company came to visit our apartment and said 'also, we found evidence of a fourth roommate, and therefore we are raising your rent $750/month, to account for the imaginary fourth person who lives in your house'
- ('is the fourth roommate the cat?' we wondered, in deep perplexity. 'one of the turtles? the ghost of Robert Burns haunting my grandfather's table?')
- five and a half weeks since the management company explained on the phone, that they believed us that we only had three roommates, we were good and responsible tenants, they had just gotten confused about the layout of the house! of course we could renew our lease at a mostly-reasonable rent hike of $100/month to account for the new kitchen and bathroom that we did not ask for, construction of which were due to begin at an unspecified time but probably in the next month, which would prevent us from using the kitchen and laundry for that entire time, for which we would not be compensated!
- approximately five weeks since we asked for a more detailed timeline of ongoing construction, given thatattractivegeekery had finals and was also due to spend a week in the house recovering from respiratory surgery in May, and were told that they did not have any timeline or schedule but would be happy to work with us to arrange something convenient
- 32 days since we received a new lease for September with 48 hours to sign it, which included a clause saying that we consented to ongoing kitchen and bathroom renovations
- also 32 days since we explained that we did not feel comfortable signing a lease with such a clause, given that the construction was supposed to start within the next month and last (ironic laughter) 7-10 days, and the lease was for SEPTEMBER, and also, hey, what about lead problems in our untested 1890s house?
- 31 days since we were told that we'd signed a standard MA Lead Addendum saying the homeowners had no knowledge of whether or not the house contained lead and therefore we had no reason to worry our little heads about it
- but hey, also 31 days since we received a version of the lease without the kitchen and bathroom construction clause! which we then signed, despite some profound misgivings about shady practices up to this date that would later be proven entirely right
Part Two: The Constructioning
So now it has been:
- 26 days since we were informed that construction was going to begin on May 3rd and last no more than three weeks, start to finish; also contractors were going to be in our house from 7-4 PM every day except Sunday; also a lockbox would be installed on our door so they could get in and out any time they chose; also all our belongings had to be out of the pantry before construction began
- also 26 days since I was told that the construction work would include my bedroom, which was going to have a closet added and one of my two doors walled up
- also 26 days since I was assured, when I expressed some profound concerns about this, that the bedroom would be totally usable during construction! no worries!
- 24 days sinceattractivegeekery and I took time off work to come home and make sure everything was out of the pantry for construction to begin on May 3rd
- also 24 days sinceattractivegeekery moved her mattress into the dining room at the front of the apartment so that we could store the pantry in her bedroom, and so that she could be as far from the construction as possible while recovering from surgery
- 23 days since the contractors failed to show up on May 3rd
- also 23 days since our management informed us, several hours after the contractors failed to show up, that actually work would be starting on May 7th
- 19 days since the contractors finally appeared
- also 19 days since the contractors casually remarked toattractivegeekery that the homeowner had decided he didn't like the layout, actually while they were there they thought they were might as well turn our living room and dining room into bedrooms, and my bedroom into a living room
- also 19 days sinceattractivegeekery's response: "Why the fuck am I finding out about this in my fucking bathrobe?"
- also 19 days since we came home and found a note on the door saying that we needed to have the entire kitchen emptied out that night
- (have I mentioned this was the night beforeattractivegeekery's final exam in biochemistry?)
- (because it also was)
- also 19 days since I asked my work's resources on call services to get me recommendations for a good tenant lawyer
- 18 days since the contractors confirmed that, yes, in fact they were going to be transforming the layout of the entire house while we were living there
- also 18 days since the entire kitchen was taken out in a day
- also 18 days since the management company emailed us in apparent perplexity to say that he had heard we were not happy with the scope of the renovations, and why could that possibly be?
- 17 days since we explained to the management company that we were not OK with living in a house that was entirely under active renovation, especially since Karen was due to have surgery the NEXT ACTUAL WEEK
- 17 days since the management company offered to pay our moving expenses if we wanted to cancel our lease and move to another apartment at any point in the next year with 30 days' notice
- also 17 days since we explained that given that construction was ONGOING this did not actually solve our problem of being in the actively constructed-upon house NOW
- also 17 days since I was told that my bedroom wall was getting knocked out that very day, but they would be happy to move my possessions to the other side of the room for me
- also 17 days since I've had a bedroom wall
- also 17 days since all our doors had plastic zipper walls installed over them, a la the infectious disease ward in a disaster movie
- also 17 days since we had a preliminary meeting with Peggy the lawyer, who told us, "you're not crazy - they're just wrong"
- 16 days since the management company offered to move us to another one of their properties for the duration of construction
- also 16 days since we said OK, that sounds reasonable, we'd like some of May's rent back to cover the kitchenless time before you move us into the new place, and also will you be helping us to move back once construction is through?
- also 16 days since the management company said haha! that offer is no longer on the table, instead we will moveattractivegeekery into a hotel room for two weeks in consideration of her surgery, cut half off June's rent in consideration of the construction, and hike your rent up another $700 again for next year because you will have four bedrooms and so will need a fourth person
- and thus: 16 days since we officially hired a lawyer
Part Three: Do As Peggy Says
And so now it has been:
- 15 days since Peggy the lawyer wrote an official C&D letter explaining all the tenant laws that had been broken in just the past short week, demanding an immediate end to construction and a large chunk of money to cover all our moving and packing expenses plus May rent back plus last month's rent and security deposit back plus utilities for the month of May plus Peggy's bills, and citingattractivegeekery's exam as an exam-ple of our various inconveniences
- and thus 15 days since "ANDattractivegeekery HAD AN EXAM!" became our watchword
- also 15 days since I came home and found my closet had been emptied out and all my possessions dumped in the living room
- and 15 days since we called the City Department of Health with our concerns about illegal construction and lead
- 14 days since we sat in the living room listening to the management company attempt to explain to the contractors that there had been a C&D letter and they probably should not enter to do construction work
- 14 days since the contractors entered to do construction work anyway, completely failing to acknowledge our presence in any way as they did so
- 14 days since Peggy advised us that we would be within our rights to call the police on them
- (and so 14 days since we discussed the uneasy ethics of calling the police on anyone at all in this day and age, even burly white dudes currently actively involved in invading our home)
- ...and also 14 days since we had brunch plans, and so decided that instead of triggering an confrontation then and there we would send another warning to the management company
- 14 days since the lockbox was removed from our front door
- ... and 13 days since ANOTHER lockbox was put on our front door
- ...... and 12 days since the second, mystery lockbox was also removed
- 12 days since Karen cancelled her respiratory surgery, which had been scheduled for the next day
- also 12 days since the city permit inspector came and discovered there was no permit for any of the construction on our house, and put a notice on our door
- 11 days since the Health Department came and tested the kitchen (surprise!) positive for lead, expressed a strong opinion that none of us should be in the house, informed us that the management company should be responsible for moving us to another location and cleaning all our possessions, and put another notice on our door
- 10 days since the Department of Labor Standards came, informed us that we should all get tested for lead poisoning, and put yet another notice of our door
- and 10 days since we went on a whirlwind tour of apartments available for June 1st
- 9 days since we put in an official bid for a new apartment
- and 9 days since an official building permit went up on our door
- and 9 days since Peggy told us that the landlord's lawyer was now in play, "an older gentleman who I've worked with many times before - he only sends things via fax (if I email him, he has to wait for his secretary to print it out and then he replies via fax) and he may or may not sound like a 1920's gangster"
- and also 9 days since we moved the cat into a new temporary home with a friend
- 8 days since our security deposit was returned
- and 8 days since the cat's lead test results came back negative (huzzah!)
- 6 days since the turtles were moved into a new temporary home with another friend
- and 6 days since the management company finally suggested they might move us into an AirBnB to get out of the way of the lead
- and thus 6 days until we all started having emergency escape bags packed so that we could relocate at a moment's notice
- 5 days since the lead abatement contractors turned up
- and also 5 days since the Health Inspector called to say that we really should be out of the house, and why had we refused hotel accommodations?
- to which we of course explained that we had not yet received an offer of hotel accommodations
- 4 days since we signed a lease on a new apartment for June 1
- 3 days since we got a lowball settlement offer
- 3 days since we fired back with a higher settlement offer that, somewhat to our surprise, seems to have been accepted
- also 3 days since some people came by to look at the apartment above us and I went full Gothic crone to careen down the porch after them shouting "BEWARE THE LANDLORDS! BEWARE THE APARTMENT!!"
- 2 days since we received the settlement check to hold in escrow until everything was signed
- and 1 day since we finally got the address of an AirBNB to stay in until the lead abatement is finished and our stuff is professionally cleaned
And now, here we are! My fourth wall is actual wall material instead of plastic! Soon I shall rise to make my breakfast in a kitchen! IT'S A DANG MAY 26th MIRACLE.
Once we move into the new apartment, we intend to plan a celebratory thank-you dinner. We'll invite Peggy the lawyer and our collection of horrified city officials, and for the centerpiece, a cake with an icing inscription: "You're not crazy, they're just wrong."
Some of you may have questions about this statement, to which I respond: it's been KIND OF A MONTH AND A HALF.
The short version: our landlords seem to have forgotten that Massachusetts has tenant laws and have been up to some wildly illegal construction shenanigans in an inhabited apartment. However - with the assistance of an extremely good tenant lawyer - we shall soon be receiving a settlement offer and will be moving to a new apartment as soon as they clean the lead dust off our stuff.
The long version is
Part One: The Imaginary Fourth
At this time of writing, May 26th, it has been:
- seven weeks since my roommates and I were offered the opportunity to renew our lease for September of this year, at a reasonable rent hike of $50/month
- six weeks since we were informed that the homeowner planned to renovate our kitchen and possibly install an extra bathroom in our laundry room
- also six weeks since we laughed uproariously at the notion that this complete kitchen renovation would be completed in '7-10 days'
- also six weeks since the management company came to visit our apartment and said 'also, we found evidence of a fourth roommate, and therefore we are raising your rent $750/month, to account for the imaginary fourth person who lives in your house'
- ('is the fourth roommate the cat?' we wondered, in deep perplexity. 'one of the turtles? the ghost of Robert Burns haunting my grandfather's table?')
- five and a half weeks since the management company explained on the phone, that they believed us that we only had three roommates, we were good and responsible tenants, they had just gotten confused about the layout of the house! of course we could renew our lease at a mostly-reasonable rent hike of $100/month to account for the new kitchen and bathroom that we did not ask for, construction of which were due to begin at an unspecified time but probably in the next month, which would prevent us from using the kitchen and laundry for that entire time, for which we would not be compensated!
- approximately five weeks since we asked for a more detailed timeline of ongoing construction, given that
attractivegeekery had finals and was also due to spend a week in the house recovering from respiratory surgery in May, and were told that they did not have any timeline or schedule but would be happy to work with us to arrange something convenient - 32 days since we received a new lease for September with 48 hours to sign it, which included a clause saying that we consented to ongoing kitchen and bathroom renovations
- also 32 days since we explained that we did not feel comfortable signing a lease with such a clause, given that the construction was supposed to start within the next month and last (ironic laughter) 7-10 days, and the lease was for SEPTEMBER, and also, hey, what about lead problems in our untested 1890s house?
- 31 days since we were told that we'd signed a standard MA Lead Addendum saying the homeowners had no knowledge of whether or not the house contained lead and therefore we had no reason to worry our little heads about it
- but hey, also 31 days since we received a version of the lease without the kitchen and bathroom construction clause! which we then signed, despite some profound misgivings about shady practices up to this date that would later be proven entirely right
Part Two: The Constructioning
So now it has been:
- 26 days since we were informed that construction was going to begin on May 3rd and last no more than three weeks, start to finish; also contractors were going to be in our house from 7-4 PM every day except Sunday; also a lockbox would be installed on our door so they could get in and out any time they chose; also all our belongings had to be out of the pantry before construction began
- also 26 days since I was told that the construction work would include my bedroom, which was going to have a closet added and one of my two doors walled up
- also 26 days since I was assured, when I expressed some profound concerns about this, that the bedroom would be totally usable during construction! no worries!
- 24 days since
attractivegeekery and I took time off work to come home and make sure everything was out of the pantry for construction to begin on May 3rd- also 24 days since
attractivegeekery moved her mattress into the dining room at the front of the apartment so that we could store the pantry in her bedroom, and so that she could be as far from the construction as possible while recovering from surgery- 23 days since the contractors failed to show up on May 3rd
- also 23 days since our management informed us, several hours after the contractors failed to show up, that actually work would be starting on May 7th
- 19 days since the contractors finally appeared
- also 19 days since the contractors casually remarked to
attractivegeekery that the homeowner had decided he didn't like the layout, actually while they were there they thought they were might as well turn our living room and dining room into bedrooms, and my bedroom into a living room- also 19 days since
attractivegeekery's response: "Why the fuck am I finding out about this in my fucking bathrobe?" - also 19 days since we came home and found a note on the door saying that we needed to have the entire kitchen emptied out that night
- (have I mentioned this was the night before
attractivegeekery's final exam in biochemistry?)- (because it also was)
- also 19 days since I asked my work's resources on call services to get me recommendations for a good tenant lawyer
- 18 days since the contractors confirmed that, yes, in fact they were going to be transforming the layout of the entire house while we were living there
- also 18 days since the entire kitchen was taken out in a day
- also 18 days since the management company emailed us in apparent perplexity to say that he had heard we were not happy with the scope of the renovations, and why could that possibly be?
- 17 days since we explained to the management company that we were not OK with living in a house that was entirely under active renovation, especially since Karen was due to have surgery the NEXT ACTUAL WEEK
- 17 days since the management company offered to pay our moving expenses if we wanted to cancel our lease and move to another apartment at any point in the next year with 30 days' notice
- also 17 days since we explained that given that construction was ONGOING this did not actually solve our problem of being in the actively constructed-upon house NOW
- also 17 days since I was told that my bedroom wall was getting knocked out that very day, but they would be happy to move my possessions to the other side of the room for me
- also 17 days since I've had a bedroom wall
- also 17 days since all our doors had plastic zipper walls installed over them, a la the infectious disease ward in a disaster movie
- also 17 days since we had a preliminary meeting with Peggy the lawyer, who told us, "you're not crazy - they're just wrong"
- 16 days since the management company offered to move us to another one of their properties for the duration of construction
- also 16 days since we said OK, that sounds reasonable, we'd like some of May's rent back to cover the kitchenless time before you move us into the new place, and also will you be helping us to move back once construction is through?
- also 16 days since the management company said haha! that offer is no longer on the table, instead we will move
attractivegeekery into a hotel room for two weeks in consideration of her surgery, cut half off June's rent in consideration of the construction, and hike your rent up another $700 again for next year because you will have four bedrooms and so will need a fourth person- and thus: 16 days since we officially hired a lawyer
Part Three: Do As Peggy Says
And so now it has been:
- 15 days since Peggy the lawyer wrote an official C&D letter explaining all the tenant laws that had been broken in just the past short week, demanding an immediate end to construction and a large chunk of money to cover all our moving and packing expenses plus May rent back plus last month's rent and security deposit back plus utilities for the month of May plus Peggy's bills, and citing
attractivegeekery's exam as an exam-ple of our various inconveniences- and thus 15 days since "AND
attractivegeekery HAD AN EXAM!" became our watchword- also 15 days since I came home and found my closet had been emptied out and all my possessions dumped in the living room
- and 15 days since we called the City Department of Health with our concerns about illegal construction and lead
- 14 days since we sat in the living room listening to the management company attempt to explain to the contractors that there had been a C&D letter and they probably should not enter to do construction work
- 14 days since the contractors entered to do construction work anyway, completely failing to acknowledge our presence in any way as they did so
- 14 days since Peggy advised us that we would be within our rights to call the police on them
- (and so 14 days since we discussed the uneasy ethics of calling the police on anyone at all in this day and age, even burly white dudes currently actively involved in invading our home)
- ...and also 14 days since we had brunch plans, and so decided that instead of triggering an confrontation then and there we would send another warning to the management company
- 14 days since the lockbox was removed from our front door
- ... and 13 days since ANOTHER lockbox was put on our front door
- ...... and 12 days since the second, mystery lockbox was also removed
- 12 days since Karen cancelled her respiratory surgery, which had been scheduled for the next day
- also 12 days since the city permit inspector came and discovered there was no permit for any of the construction on our house, and put a notice on our door
- 11 days since the Health Department came and tested the kitchen (surprise!) positive for lead, expressed a strong opinion that none of us should be in the house, informed us that the management company should be responsible for moving us to another location and cleaning all our possessions, and put another notice on our door
- 10 days since the Department of Labor Standards came, informed us that we should all get tested for lead poisoning, and put yet another notice of our door
- and 10 days since we went on a whirlwind tour of apartments available for June 1st
- 9 days since we put in an official bid for a new apartment
- and 9 days since an official building permit went up on our door
- and 9 days since Peggy told us that the landlord's lawyer was now in play, "an older gentleman who I've worked with many times before - he only sends things via fax (if I email him, he has to wait for his secretary to print it out and then he replies via fax) and he may or may not sound like a 1920's gangster"
- and also 9 days since we moved the cat into a new temporary home with a friend
- 8 days since our security deposit was returned
- and 8 days since the cat's lead test results came back negative (huzzah!)
- 6 days since the turtles were moved into a new temporary home with another friend
- and 6 days since the management company finally suggested they might move us into an AirBnB to get out of the way of the lead
- and thus 6 days until we all started having emergency escape bags packed so that we could relocate at a moment's notice
- 5 days since the lead abatement contractors turned up
- and also 5 days since the Health Inspector called to say that we really should be out of the house, and why had we refused hotel accommodations?
- to which we of course explained that we had not yet received an offer of hotel accommodations
- 4 days since we signed a lease on a new apartment for June 1
- 3 days since we got a lowball settlement offer
- 3 days since we fired back with a higher settlement offer that, somewhat to our surprise, seems to have been accepted
- also 3 days since some people came by to look at the apartment above us and I went full Gothic crone to careen down the porch after them shouting "BEWARE THE LANDLORDS! BEWARE THE APARTMENT!!"
- 2 days since we received the settlement check to hold in escrow until everything was signed
- and 1 day since we finally got the address of an AirBNB to stay in until the lead abatement is finished and our stuff is professionally cleaned
And now, here we are! My fourth wall is actual wall material instead of plastic! Soon I shall rise to make my breakfast in a kitchen! IT'S A DANG MAY 26th MIRACLE.
Once we move into the new apartment, we intend to plan a celebratory thank-you dinner. We'll invite Peggy the lawyer and our collection of horrified city officials, and for the centerpiece, a cake with an icing inscription: "You're not crazy, they're just wrong."
no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 01:45 pm (UTC)New apartment is totally not with them, right? And certified lead-free?
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 03:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 01:51 pm (UTC)I am so sorry about all this shit, and so pleased for the cat and the turtles. And you.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:03 pm (UTC)I'm so glad that you got a lawyer. A good lawyer.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:37 pm (UTC)ETA: And glad you're out of there and I hope no one got lead poisoning.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:48 pm (UTC)I am very glad you got Peggy and she was great.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:41 pm (UTC)*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 03:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 04:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 05:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 06:52 pm (UTC)I hope that settlement includes an extra-special bit for attractivegeekery having to CANCEL SURGERY!!!
no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-26 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-27 04:12 pm (UTC)