Hypothetical Question

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Let's say you have a dream apartment, just a 2-minute walk to the Davis Square T, in a building that is run exceptionally well and is everything you could ever want in a home.

Now let's say the fire alarm goes off about once a month, for no apparent reason. You hear from your neighbors, usually it's during the day while you're at work. You have no doubt the management does what it can to fix the problem.

Now let's say you've been away for three weeks, not getting any sleep and walking a lot. And you get back, you have a stress fracture, and all you want is a consistent 8-hour block of sleep, at least, to rest and catch up and beat jet lag. And the fire alarm goes off one morning at 3:30 AM. And the next at 6:00 AM.

Who would you kill?What would you do? Write a firm letter demanding rent back? Move? What?

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

So is this an apartment building with an actual manager, of a multi-unit house run more casually? That would affect how I'd answer the question.

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Yes, there is a manager.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Seek out institutional recourse (http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2006/06/062106.html).

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

ahh, zefrank. Thanks for making me laugh.

[komos.livejournal.com]

We'll always have Day Street...

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

Call the fire department. Repeated false alarms have to be illegal, and they're likely just as pissed off as you in answering them. I would think they'd tell you where to file charges.

Also the building inspector. They will come out and, at the least, make the landlord sweat.

[ron_newman]

I think the city has a fine for repeated false alarms. Maybe it's not high enough for the property owner to fix the problem.

[ihavemeaning.livejournal.com]

I'd write a letter about the fire alarm as a "quality of life" issue. Refuse to pay about $100 bucks on rent, and tell them that you'll continue to make a deduction for every incident in the apartment. Or just head to a hotel and send them the bill.

From the sound of the place, I'm guessing that it is well managed and semi-expensive. They want to keep ya'll happy. But then, if you aren't happy, and they aren't happy with the way you deal with your unhappiness re fire alarm, they can probably find somebody else to move in.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Witholding rent for the fire alarm going off twice is a bad idea. Here's a link to tenant law (http://www.gis.net/~groucho/tenant.html) - look at it and you'll see the circumstances aren't quite applicable. Instead, start by talking to the landlord and other tenants.

[gilana]

In addition to all the useful longer-term suggestions above, I'd go out and buy some good earplugs to get a decent night's sleep!

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

If only! I have earplugs, but this alarm could wake the dead. Which is good, because, in the end, I like my fire alarms to work. Maybe I should just sleep at a friend's house...

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

I would get all of my neighbors involved too. What about the people that live next door? can they hear the fire alarm as well? There is no reason that can not be fixed.

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Mmm, definitely. I wonder about the houses surrounding us.

[karmaportrait.livejournal.com]

be very very careful before you withold rent!!

i assume you've already paid september rent anyways? if you wihold rent without proper legal grounds you set yourself up for even more trouble. a fantastic primer for the layperson on MA housing law can be found right here (http://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/legal-tactics1).

if this building is so fantastic i would attempt to solve things amicablly with the building management before i antagonize them with legal action.

if you have more questions i can go into more detail if you'd like.

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Thank you. This sounds like it may fall under Quiet Enjoyment. I'm not interested in suing, I just want it fixed. Or some compensation. I think $25 to each resident per incident would be a start...

I will try to contact you off the list.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I would start by contacting management in writing. Telling them I'm sure they know that repeated false alarms are punishable by the city, and asking them to detail what measures they're taking to solve the problem.

I would also keep records of all of the false alarms.

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Good idea, I didn't think of keeping records. Probably because I'm usually groggy and angry. :)

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Hey, we totally do live in the same building, xjustquietx! Anyway, it goes off a lot more than once a month; I think in the 2.5 months I've been living there it's gone off something like eight times that I know of. Might as well call the property manager and ask what they're doing to try to fix the problem. The firefighters said it was a "faulty smoke alarm" that set it off, so it should be a fixable issue. I have to say that like my apartment, but I've also had a ton of problems, especially with plumbing, and haven't found the property manager to be terribly responsive in fixing stuff--I've had to call 3-5 times to get some issues dealt with--so I am not totally convinced that they are doing everything they can to fix it.

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Edit: That's eight times at night, when I was home, so add to that whenever it goes off during the day.

Hi neighbor!

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Oh really? I'm sorry to hear you've had such trouble. I've only had a few problems which were solved fairly soon, and it always seems like there's someone checking up on something.

Yeah, I've been here over a year, and the alarm has gone off a few times at night, but often I've been awake and still dressed at 1 AM... which should bother me, I know, but it doesn't. But 8 times? Wow, that's crazy.

Next fire alarm we should meet up or something and band together the residents. It seems like the other residents sleep in more and more too (I try to occasionally, but then I am overcome by my fear of the building actually being on fire).

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone!

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Not to suggest that being woken up isn't a hassle, but if you start calling building inspectors, threatening the landlord, and withholding money, you're apt to have a larger problem than a fire alarm going off.

I would suggest a polite phone call to the landlord. Cover the basics: is he aware of the problem? Does he understand that it's making it very difficult to sleep, and that you -really- just want a good night's sleep? Does he understand how frequently this occurs?

In my experience, most folks are reasonable given an argument that they can empathize with, and unreasonable if they feel defensive and distanced from you. The other posters' suggestions make sense two or three steps down the line, but it doesn't sound like this problem is quite there yet.

Good luck!

[xjustquietx.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Yes, I definitely do want to be as amicable as possible, despite how angry I get when I am first woken up.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

i had a hardwired smoke alarm go off repeatedly one night at my old building (crappy landlord). in the past, random alarms were caused literally by a spider sitting on the sensor. a few thwacks and out it crawled. the last time however, it was finally all the humidity that must have shorted out something in a different detector in the back. i called the firedepartment twice (once to respond to the alarm, the second time to have them back to disconnect the thing cause it wouldn't turn off and they found nothing wrong). said they'd contact the landlord. never knew if they did - never saw the landlord fix anything & i moved out of there asap that year. my guess involved either the squirrels or mice in the crawlspace snacking on the tasty wires.

anyway, just thought you might want to hear that you're not alone, and sometimes the alarm has just become a spider's home. :p