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damons

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 21, 2010
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Hi everyone. I don't post very often, but I read a lot of the posts, and I have seem some great advice given. I could use some, so I am hoping that maybe you could help me out.

I live on the top floor of a 6 story apartment building in Philly. My wife and I have lived here for about 4 years, and prior to us living together, she lived in another building owned by the same management company. We have a great relationship with them. Our rent is always on time, and we have never had any problems.

The other day, I came home from work to find a note posted next to the elevator saying that they are replacing our elevator in January and we will be without an elevator for approximately 6 weeks. There are stairs, but they are fire escape stairs...very steep, very narrow, and very dark. The issue is that I am disabled.

I have an auto-immune disease called polymyositis, and I basically lost a majority of my muscle in my upper arms and upper legs. Stairs are a huge challenge for me, but 6 flights of these particular stairs for 6 weeks is impossible. I mentioned this to my landlord, and I really don't think they are taking this very seriously because I don't look disabled. I am 33 years old, and to the average person, I look completely normal. People associate "disabled" or "handicapped" with a wheelchair not realizing that there other disabilities out there. It's bad enough that I get the stink eye when I park in a handicapped spot (I have a tag), but I really thought that they had to make an accommodation.

There is an empty apartment on the 3rd floor. That would be a challenge, but it would be possible. I asked if we can stay in this apartment for the 6 weeks. She said that we could, but she also said that there is another tenant on our floor that has a medical condition and can't climb the stairs. She said "to be fair" they were going to let us each stay in the available apartment for 3 weeks. :o

What will this solve???? So after 3 weeks, we would need to move our bed, couch and TV back to our 6th floor apartment without an elevator??? Besides, what would be do for the other 3 weeks?

As a plan B, we are looking at other apartments in the event that we have to move. But our lease goes until July.

So my question is this...legally, do they have to accommodate me? And if they can't accommodate me, do you they have to let me out of the lease without any financial penalty?
 
Doesn't sound right. So is there only one elevator? Is there a service elevator? Just trying to get a little more info.
 
damons, i'm sorry that they are being so difficult! it is hard to be physically impaired but look totally normal - people fail to understand how hard it is and clearly make judgements and assumptions on what they think they know. i can't comment from a legal perspective, but from a medical perspective you should get documentation from your physician regarding polymyositis and it's implications on limitations to your physical activity, particularly climbing stairs. if the landlord doesn't accommodate you after this then i believe you can further use that medical evidence to be released from your lease and find somewhere else. if they are being difficult, then threatening to involve legal action or filing a complain with your local real estate managing body might get things going. perhaps the lawyers or real estate agents on here could further elucidate, but i definitely think some actual documentation is required. any scripts for immunosuppresants or records from hospital visits may also be useful. hope that helps and good luck!
 
There is no service elevator. This is the only elevator in the building.

To their defense, the elevator has been acting up...it doesn't always land evenly on the floor. The door doesn't always open. I mean, it needs to be fixed. I just thought that they had to accommodate disabled tenants.
 
I think you should find out your legal rights. A place to start might be an organization that is familiar with Disability Rights Laws, and the Fair House Act. I have never called this line, so I have no way of knowing if they are helpful:

http://www.fairhousingfirst.org/
(888) 341-7781 (voice/TTY)
 
Hmmm. I'm also not sure what they are legally obligated to do, but I agree with Marchesa that if you want out of the lease, get medical documentation of your condition and limitations. Am I correct in assuming that you did not disclose your condition to them when you moved in? That might hurt your case a bit, but I'd think you'll still be allowed out of your lease if necessary. The reason I ask is because I'd imagine if you disclosed your limitations before moving in, they would not have placed you on the top floor. For example, if they knew you couldn't go down stairs, they wouldn't put you on a floor from which you couldn't escape if there was a fire or power outage that prevented you from using the elevator, know what I mean?
 
Seeing a lawyer is your next need, I think. It's a shame you need to go through this. I'm sure a lawyer will tell you to get written verification from your dr. & then should help you through whatever process is next. If you can't afford a lawyer, Legal Aid in your city is sure to have attorneys familiar with this sort of problem -- I imagine they deal with it quite a lot. The landlord should be on the hook to make some accommodation for you, even if it is only letting you out of your lease without penalties.

Good luck & let us know how it goes -- what a headache for you!

--- Laurie
 
Wow, what an awful situation, and their King Solomon solution is ridiculous. Do they have any other vacant apartments in other buildings that you could move to for the 6 weeks? (I would also be concerned that it won't really take just 6 weeks-most construction projects always seem to take much longer than the original estimate.)

If that's not an option, it seems like your best bet may be to tell them you'll have to break your lease and that you want your full deposit back since you are forced to move out due to the elevator. If they won't agree to this, I would contact a lawyer about breaking your lease.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I will say that I was just searching for apartments in Philly and saw several elevator building apartments available. So hopefully if you do have to move you'll be able to find a suitable new place.
 
Thanks so much for all of the replies. I just talked to a co-worker and his wife is an attorney. This is not her area of expertise, but she is pretty sure that they have to make a "reasonable accommodation" for me. Of course, their idea of reasonable might be completely different than mine. But she agrees that splitting the 3rd floor apartment is not reasonable.

She also said that I don't have to disclose my disability up front, and they cannot discriminate based on it. I just wish that I got the impression that they cared and wanted to actually make the situation better. Instead, it's me and my wife bending over backwards to find a solution. They act like they are doing us a favor.

Moving is the last thing that we want to do. It's a pain in the a$$, and it means that we literally have a week to find a new place, and come up with the money for a deposit. Not to mention, hire movers and all of that fun stuff.

Maybe I will have to go the legal route with them, but I really don't want to burn any bridges. I would love to be able to use them as a reference in the future. I think I am dealing with a lose-lose situation here.

On a positive note though, the apartment that my wife is looking at today is in a charming little neighborhood a little bit outside of the city, so the apartment is huge and the rent is significantly cheaper than what we pay. Plus, there is a pool :appl: Maybe this won't be so bad afterall.
 
This is obviously putting you (and your fellow disabled tenant) in a terrible situation. To be fair though, it seems like this situation is as difficult for the management company as it is for you - although I would think they could have come up with a better solution thank the 3-week split they're offering! Would there be a possibility of their delaying the renovation until they have better options, ie vacancies on lower floors - for both of you? At a minimum they should be willing to allow you out of your lease without penalty! And if you are able to find another place and move before your lease would have been up... maybe they could cover part of the moving costs??? :Up_to_something:
 
I am almost positive that they HAVE to have a means for anyone with a disability to get to their place of residence. It MUST be fully accessible at all times. They need an external elevator or some other option besides stairs. I would also like to know wtf requires a replaced elevator to take 6 weeks. Our office building had both replaced and it took 3 days.
 
im sorry to hear about your situation. I would be reading your contract,making an appointment with your Dr., talking to the housing board in your area, the owner of the building and a lawyer, and again talking to the building manager about what accommodation the owners have put into place in a situation like this.You have to be more aggressive with these people.I would also expect a rent deduction per/month when this type of work is being done for the major inconvenience.When you sign a contract its assumed that you will receive a proper way to exit the building to get to the street every day and you are paying for that convenience.When its taken away then THEY should have in place a plan to either give you an equally convenient way out of the building or compensate you for your loss. The elevator was running at the time you signed the contract and so its their responsibility to make sure you are getting the service you paid for unless otherwise written in the contract.You need to re-read your contract and en-force your rights.Just because they put up a sign and tell you that you can take old unsafe stairs or split an apartment for 3 weeks at a time doesn't mean that these are your only options!You are paying these people for a safe and convenient living space.You are the one to demand that they do this for you. They are going to do as little as possible unless people in your building speak up and tell them that its not good enough.
I was in an accident a few years ago that left me with a limited ability to walk up and down stairs and was wheel chair bound for months.I found that i had to learn my rights and sometimes enforce them as a person with limitations.I once lived in an apartment that was damaged by the fault of the owners and they gave me the runaround until I told them that we had a contract and if they could not find me equal living accommodations while my apartment was being repaired then they could pay out of pocket for a hotel and property storage for the 4 weeks i was inconvenienced.They found me an apartment equal to mine within minutes. You need to find out your rights and have a come to the light meeting with the building manager AND owner. Good Luck!
 
This is so bad!
As a landlord, I would advise you to take the legal route ASAP. Let me tell you that you are not dealing lose-lose situation here the landlord is. Where I live, I could easily be fined for 5k+legal fees just for not listening to your disabled needs. I can only charge rent before and after major renovations are completed.  Ideally, you want to move renters with special needs to a vacant apartment. If there are is no vacant apartment, it is my responsibility to pay for their accommodations. 
Even if you find a new apartment, DO not fear these people, keep all your paperwork handy and continue with legal route.
Good Luck!
 
damons|1324573010|3086811 said:
On a positive note though, the apartment that my wife is looking at today is in a charming little neighborhood a little bit outside of the city, so the apartment is huge and the rent is significantly cheaper than what we pay. Plus, there is a pool :appl: Maybe this won't be so bad afterall.

It truly sounds like you're being guided to a much better situation. I personally would just use this as an opportunity to (hopefully) not have to give notice, find someplace that's more suited to you and your wife and live (mostly) happily ever after. Good luck!

As for the original question, it looks like it's been answered a few times, but they do need to make reasonable accommodations. It would behoove you to get a brief statement from your physician that states your inability to climb over X flights of stairs due to a permanent medical condition.
 
For similar matters (consumer protection on landlord/tenant laws), I've found the employees at these type of locations to know this tiny sub-segment of the law, as actually practiced in the specific community with the specific adjudicators of that community, amazingly well -- and to be VERY helpful. Call the numbers, tell your story in a 15-second sound bite, and ask if they have a disability rights/consumer/housing office with whom you can set up an appointment to find out your options and protections. (How the law is *practiced* in your area is more helpful than what the codes say, IMEs.)

Philadelphia Fair Housing Website:

http://www.phila.gov/fairhousing/

Fair Housing Law Website for suburban Phila., phone # on web page:

http://www.fhcsp.com/Laws/pwd.html

If you want to google, the fair housing act is codified at 42 U.S.C. subsections 3601-3619.

I'm sorry to hear of your upcoming inconvenience and hope you can find out what is considered "reasonable accommodation" in your jurisdiction-- and I hope supplying these resources helps.
 
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