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June 26, 2008
Renovating occupied units
I have been staying in this apartment for about 10 months now (have a 12 month lease). There was a management change recently and there has been lot of renovation going on since then. Initially, they started working on unoccupied units (changing carpets, doors, installing AC etc). There was lot of noise, dust etc. But we understood that this is part of renovation and did not do anything. Then, the management gave notices stating that they will be changing all the water pipes in the apartment complex. They'd stop water from 9:00 AM till 8:00 PM once a week. This was happening for about 2 months. Then they started stopping water more frequently (2 days a week, morning till night). When we asked about this, the management simply said that they are giving the required 24 hr notice for such cases, as if their job is over when they give the notices in time. Moreover, they had given keys for all the units to the plumbing group. They'd come in to the apartment any time (without even knocking the doors or checking if somebody is inside). They'd come in even on weekends (Saturdays). Worse, because of the poor plumbing work, 2 apartments got flooded and water was shut-off without notice on a Weekday at 8:30 in the morning (when I had to get my son ready for school, rush to office etc). I told the management that I cannot live here and would like to terminate my lease. They said that I can give a 30 day notice and one month rent as fee for breaking the lease. My question is, if I'm leaving the apartment because of inconvenience caused by an incompetent management, why should I pay the fee for breaking my lease. It is not my fault that they are renovating the complex. Replacing the water pump was not an emergency requirement and it was definitely not required on occupied units. Can somebody help me with how I can handle this case?
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