Apartment flood

[Pilot]

So I'm just turning to you guys for all sorts of help this evening. First tailoring, now a plot to screw my apartment.

We had a small flood in the apartment today. The water heater upstairs exploded. The apartment below us actually got hit worse as a lot of water ran down some shaft, and the apartment above was apparently just a lake and will need extensive work. We have water spots all over our ceiling and five or six pans spread around covering leaks. We also have a very very wet patch of carpet in our main hallway. It didn't really ruin anything, for better or worse, but damn it, I want to take advantage of this.

Has anyone ever raised hell with their apartment to get some rent cut off? I have no idea how much they'd do, but we could make a fairly strong case for this being pretty damn annoying. The carpet could well be ruined in the really wet spot and I'm going to have to sleep tonight with the pitter-patter of drops in pots all around. Who knows how long that will be the case. Plus our ceiling is all ****ed up with spots.

Would I have any chance at all of saving money by raising hell with the landlords (it's a fairly large complex, I assume a company with more than just this property), or am I trying a little too hard here?

Thanks.

 

[sportschick]

I had a hot water heater explode, not once, but three times. I got $300 off my rent that month, and a free carpet cleaning.

The poor girl under me had to have the ceiling in her living room replaced because it was falling in from all the water damage.

 

[Tom Petty]

don't sleep in the wet spot.

 

[rascalface]

If any of your stuff is damaged, it's probably time for a conversation with your renter's insurance agent. But it sounds like you made it out OK, so consider yourself lucky.

You should demand that the water damage be cleaned up as soon as possible because you don't want mold in your home.

 

[Dirk Legume]

That much wet means mold, mold, mold. It could be in your ceiling and it will definitely grow in your carpet unless it is professionally cleaned and dried. Plus wet carpet can end up smelling up the whole apartment.

But I would really be thinking mold. Make them test for it and repair whatever they need to.

 

[Ace]

If the carpet is soaked, they need to bring on one of those disaster teams or environmental services or whatever they are called to rip up the carpet and put in dehumidifiers, run fans, etc. etc.

That's noisy and annoying and I would have the apartment folks put you up for a couple days while they fixed your place.

 

[imjustagirl2]

don't sleep in the wet spot.

Tom, that post right there sums up why I heart you so.

 

[Ace]

don't sleep in the wet spot.

Tom, that post right there sums up why I heart you so.

Yeah, but the only wet spots Tom encounters are when he spills his Mountain Dew on the couch.

 

[slappy4428]

Yeah, I had one where the plumbers were working on the apt upstairs, started running water in the sink and realized they hadn't connected the drain. It flooded my apt, but caused ceiling damage.
They repaired the ceiling, brought someone in to clean my apt and gave me the half-0month rent credit I asked for, since that was the timeframe I was inconvenienced from start to finish.

 

[Flash]

I got a free month's rent in July, because my apartment flooded during the monsoon season of June. Ruined two dressers, a CD rack and two bookshelves.
The month's rent didn't replace all that but it did placate me a tiny bit.

 

[Tom Petty]

don't sleep in the wet spot.

Tom, that post right there sums up why I heart you so.

Yeah, but the only wet spots Tom encounters are when he spills his Mountain Dew on the couch.

ijag - consider yourself hugged, my friend.

ace - damn you. you only could have been more right if you said diet dr pepper.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

My advice is to perform some sort of hoodoo that will send a hurricane to destroy your apartment. Then wait a couple of years and Brad Pitt will come along and offer to build you a free house that's on stilts. You shouldn't have any flooding problems after that.

 

[fishwrapper]

If the carpet is soaked, they need to bring on one of those disaster teams or environmental services or whatever they are called to rip up the carpet and put in dehumidifiers, run fans, etc. etc.

That's noisy and annoying and I would have the apartment folks put you up for a couple days while they fixed your place.

Homeowners' or auto?