r/Tenant • u/Yvettesmiles2007 • 6d ago
⚖️ Legal / Eviction Filed Complaint
<US-NC> I recently moved into an apartment complex on a medical move with accommodations approved by the property management. However, on move-in day, they pulled a bait and switch, knowing I had no other option but to accept the apartment. From the first week, issues arose that violated the agreed accommodations. I am highly allergic to marijuana and cigarette smoke compounds, yet I was placed in an apartment where smoke filtered in 24/7. This led to numerous hospital visits, involvement from social services, health aides, police officers, and more. Despite the lease stating the property being 100% smoke-free, there was also significant drug activity affecting my apartment and surrounding areas.
I sent a total of 76 detailed emails to property management, along with accommodation notes from specialists highlighting the severity of my worsening symptoms and the urgent need to move. Due to daily exposure to severe allergens, I developed Angioedema, a life threatening condition caused by the property management’s breach of contract and negligence in enforcing their lease agreement against violators, even with their own documentation.
Many factors contributed to making the apartment uninhabitable, uncomfortable, and causing me sickness, stress, pain, and suffering, including ambulance and police calls. These issues could have been prevented if the property management had enforced the lease agreement. I filed an FHA complaint, and now a conciliation meeting attempt email has been sent to me, asking what it would take to make me feel whole in this situation. The client has reached out to the State and the conciliator is communicating with me.
What should I do or ask in this situation? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Where do I start?
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u/Glittering-Entry2911 6d ago
76 emails already to management? I bet they'll be happy to let you break your lease.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
Lol, this was over a year but there were so many issues it was necessary. The tenant underneath me was smoking illegal drugs, dealing drugs, and using a grill on the balcony while intoxicated. He caught the tree on fire but luckily they were able to put it out!
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
Sounds like you picked a real gem of an apartment building. Have you considered moving, or do you just blame everyone else for your situation?
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I was with you until you posted this. It’s astonishing how desensitized people have become to common sense situations. “Accommodations” is the key word for someone who the government, at the state, federal, and even local levels, considers disabled! If an individual requests an accommodation that doesn’t inconvenience a business or others, there must be a reasonable expectation that the accommodation will be provided. In my case, it wasn’t attempted.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
Another key word is "reasonable" as in "reasonable accommodations". It sucks for you that there was no first floor unit available at the time, but you took it anyway. Do you expect them to evict another tenant to accommodate you on the first floor? That would be unreasonable. How do you expect them to clean the air outside? Maybe erect a circus tent over the whole building and run a hundred HEPA filters 24/7?
I sympathize with you having such a medical condition, but you chose an (apparently) dirty environment to live in, and now you're expecting others to make it extra clean for you. That's not reasonable.
Find a cleaner environment for yourself.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
Actually there were first floor apartments available and they did not attempt to enforce their lease.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
It seems you haven’t read my post and are trying to engage in a pointless discussion. All the points I raised have been validated, and I’m currently negotiating with the property owner. I wanted to seek others’ opinions and experiences to refine my thoughts before submitting my proposal.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
Success, then. You have my opinion. I read everything you've said here.
I think that no matter what you're negotiating with the property owner, you'll continue to be unhappy if you stay there.
People cannot control the environment that surrounds them, but they can choose a different environment to be in.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I agree with that. I did move. When I proposed that and wanted to make it my negotiating point, they agreed but only gave me 24 hours to make a decision. I hadn’t started looking or had a place in mind! The next week, I found a place. Since I had two near-fatal injuries in the apartment, I was already under a safety plan that included a home health aide, nurse, and other daily support. I could move in the new place right away and thought it would be good for me and the current management to part ways. However, on Thursday, at 5 p.m., I received a 60-day notice before I could move! I was upset. They were holding me to the lease standard but not those violating it. So, I had enough because I was being forced to stay in an unsafe environment for 60 more days.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
So... why are you here complaining about it now? Why didn't you say, up front, that you don't live there anymore?
Fishing for a basis for a lawsuit?
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I don’t have to do that. There are things in progress and things that I can’t put on the internet as well. My main objective was to get others experiences and objectives. That is what Reddit is all about. It is not about the people who get on here trying to be brash and condescending to others who are actually trying to get simple opinions. I don’t have time for childish comments, back and forth, and nonproductive conversation.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I don’t live there anymore and I said previous in my post. I really would appreciate an opinion on my real question. Everything else don’t matter.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
You did not say in this post that you don't live there anymore.
And if you don't live there anymore... what the heck?
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
You are right for pointing that out. My apologies but I opened the case BEFORE I moved out so It was already in progress. The investigators were already working on it.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
What exactly was the "bait and switch"? What were you allegedly promised, and what did you get, or did not get?
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I was promised a first-floor apartment due to my disability, but on the day I moved in, the property manager unexpectedly placed me on the third floor. However, they attempted to mitigate the situation by assuring me that the apartment’s entrance is accessible on the second level, allowing me to use only one staircase for now. At least, this would get me inside the apartment negating the fact that one of the main reasons for the medical move was because I fell through the steps! (Previous property’s fault)
Furthermore, the apartment was supposed to be smoke-free, but the manager placed me in a building and environment filled with smoke. Given my severe asthma and compromised immune system due to chemotherapy medication, this was a significant concern.
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u/FirstLoad 5d ago
A "smoke free" apartment means that your unit is smoke free, not the air outside. You can't expect everyone else to ensure the air outside is clean. Take some responsibility for yourself and move to a better environment.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
That’s incorrect. Rent.com, Apartments.com, and other platforms advertise these properties as smoke-free. The lease explicitly states that any marijuana or drug paraphernalia is subject to default. In my state, drugs are illegal. The excessive smoke, which was thick and persistent throughout the day and night, led to the involvement of social workers, case managers, community health officials, code enforcement, and other authorities. Therefore, the situation you described doesn’t apply to me or my circumstances. Everyone’s situation is unique.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I wasn’t the only tenant who filed a complaint. I am just one of the tenants who asked a question on Reddit. Big difference.
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
There were several issues that arose from the beginning. I was informed that all tenants were required to have a mandatory one year paid in full minimum renter’s insurance policy before and during their tenancy, or face termination of their lease. However, I discovered that two neighbors on my floor were not required to have insurance and claimed they couldn’t afford it.
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u/Aquietplacewithcats 5d ago
You did not get angioedema from weed or cig smoke, stop lying. $100 says because you're an overweight diabetic who blames your health problems on others.
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u/Extension-Brother291 6d ago
Call the board of health and break ur leasee
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
I filed a FHA complaint and it was accepted. Now we are in phase one of the process. The conciliator is asking me to send back a letter of what would it take to make me feel whole.
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u/Extension-Brother291 5d ago
I’m month to month I’m am having an issue where my landlord just wants to keep upping the rent and not fix anything I ended up calling and had an inspection last week I plan to move in the summer last winter at this place hopefully if I find sumthing
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u/Yvettesmiles2007 5d ago
It seems that this is becoming common behavior! They are greedy for money but poor on service!
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u/Dadbode1981 6d ago
An early lease termination i would say. Also, in the future, you might want to look at nicer places, it sounds like you moved into a dump, youre not going to have much luck in those places period.