Hi! I’ve been at my wits end with my landlord and need some advice. I’ve lived here with my fiancé for four years and the whole time the landlord has been so negligent with the overall upkeep and quality of the apartment (shocker). For example, at one point during the winter last year, our washroom ceiling leaked and it took her 4 days to get a plumber to come look at it.
Right now, it’s a mess. For the past two months, there has been constant loud construction. Contractors found that one of the walls from the third floor all the way to the first floor was completely rotted and they have had to completely demo and redo all three bathrooms. There was also black mold on every single surface. Every time they fix something, they find something else that has either rotted or broken, as it’s an older Chicago building that she never bothered to update the plumbing for. She’s apparently fought them on every step, saying that the repairs aren’t necessary and that it’s not that bad.
I work from home, so the constant construction noise and the plumbers coming in and out of my apartment has really impacted my work. I can’t take calls at the drop of a hat anymore, as it sometimes gets so loud. Right now, they’re finally demoing our bathroom. So I’m working from my office while the rest of the apartment is a mess of dust and I’ve to walk 10 minutes to the nearest 7/11 yesterday and today if I needed to use the bathroom during the day. (Thankfully they put the toilet back in the evening). Unfortunately we probably won’t have a working shower until next week, so we will be showing at my in laws house and the gym.
I politely requested a decrease in rent for the next month, as this has been so stressful and has impacted my mental and physical health. Surprise, she said no, and said that the repairs are necessary and I just have to deal with it.
I know this has been so rambly, so thanks for reading. I’d love to know if there’s any way I can go about this to get a decrease in rent. The world is on fire and money is tight, so saving some on rent would be amazing.
Any advice would be great- thank you so much