There’s an alarm that’s been going off in this room and I can hear it inside my apartment, on top of my heavy footed upstairs neighbor. I called the front office of course they did nothing. Any advice on what to do next? It’s driving me crazy!!
Was playing with my dog and happened to chip one of the blind panels. Best way to fix this?
Good evening guys,
Brace yourself, this is going to be a long one. I moved to Brussels about a year ago for a new job and found a decent flat in Ixelles, fairly new building and for a "normal" price (not cheap!). When I first walked in, last August, it was incredibly hot inside, like 34 degrees. The building manager (yes, it is one of those buildings owned by a company that rents out the whole thing) just shrugged: "It's been closed up for almost two months, that's normal."
LITTLE DID I KNOW
It was not, in fact, normal. It has now been a full year and my apartment has not once dipped below 20-22 degrees. Not in autumn, not in the deadly Belgian winter, not ever. I've tried to force it last december keeping the windows open and it got to 18 degrees just to see if the thermostat was working correctly. At the beginning I thought it was due to the insulation being incredibly good, at the end of the day the building was completed 6-7 years ago. My radiators have never turned on since I moved. Meanwhile, some of my upstairs neighbors apparently spend January with windows open, because it's always hot. So I began my slow descent into detective work.
After way too much time spent on this for a rental, I discovered the truth: the pipes that carry hot water from the building's (insulated) central collectors to each individual apartment are completely bare. The landings are always crazy hot and without any ventilation. And by law, to prevent legionella, that water has to circulate at 60 degrees , 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whether or not anyone showers. This heat concentrates in the middle floors (2-3-4-5) while it's better at the lower floors and at the very top one. Guess where I live? Correct, right in the fucking middle.
Those pipes run directly under every floor and every apartment. Which means I have been living with fully functional, always-on, underfloor heating going at 60 degrees that I never asked for, can't turn off, and apparently signed a lease for without anyone mentioning it. I also met the building manager again some months ago in the parking downstairs and he himself admitted the problem, very casually, like "lol man, what can we do?". I mean, poor guy, he needs to run the circus, he didn't build the place.
Funniest thing of all? Until a few years ago there was NO REGULATION in Belgium about insulating those pipes and apparently the project of this building was registered right before it. I digged more and discovered that currently there's a new regulation that became effective in early 2026 OBLIGING to fix this but only if the pipes are accessible. Of course these pipes are partially accessible, partially under the floor and partially drowned in cement. Thank you Belgium for creating a smart law decades in delay, planting into it an escape clause. At the same time I can understand that fixing this issue would require the entire building to be emptied for months.
Since I'm a tenant and can't exactly rip open my floor, I have hand-wrapped the visibile pipes myself with reversible very expensive professional foam pipe insulation (snap-on, no glue, no drilling, very "please don't take my deposit") after measuring every last elbow and joint like a man defusing a bomb. This helped me lowering the temperature of this place of 2-3 degrees. I have bought a portable AC unit, but that basically allows to keep the temperature from not raising.
Do you want an idea of how bad it is? I've been away for 2 days for work leaving the windows open, they are open right now, outside is 16 and here is almost 24 degrees. When it's actually hot outside the temperature inside can easily be +6-7 degrees. Last weekend I had a friend visiting, that is incidentally an architect, and he told me "man, you are so fucked".
To be transparent, people living here all have nice jobs and cars, they shouldn't be stupid. I am shocked that no one did anything in the last 5-6 years and just lived with this.
Next stop: wrote an email to Homegrade, hopefully they can help (?) and getting the building's management to actually acknowledge this isn't normal, that we are talking about a design flaw and that we should be compensated. This is not about regulations, this is about quality of living. Will update if I win. Will also update if I simply melt (way more probable).
I reported a water leak in my unit on Sunday. It’s now Wednesday. Still leaking, still nobody has shown up.
I filed it as an urgent request, which it clearly is. Water running for days doesn’t stay a water problem, it turns into a drywall problem, a flooring problem, and eventually a mold problem. No call, no text, no knock on the door.
I’m not asking for anything unreasonable. I want someone to come look at a leak I flagged four days ago. If that’s the response time for urgent, I’d like to know what non-urgent looks like.
Anyone else dealt with Amber Apartments management? Trying to figure out if this is normal or if I just got unlucky.
My garbage disposal wasn't working so i put in a work order and this is what i came home to. One picture is the original drain in the left sink. Looks normal. Next is the new drain they put in with the new disposal in the right sink. They used some weird putty to install it. The putty doesn't dry and can be easily wiped away.
This woman lost everything when her building burned down. The apartment management then moved her into an apartment with no AC, where she waited patiently for 9 months for a new condenser. This is what they installed.
The maintenance team at Harbour Point (formerly Chatham Village) is the most incompetent clown show I've ever seen. When I pointed out that the high voltage cover was missing, their maintenance man told me, "It works better that way." I'm a certified and registered AC technician. I know for a fact that's 100% wrong. He's told my neighbors some things that are so outlandish that I can't remember them -they're too ridiculous! He's one of those guys who can't admit when he doesn't know something, and just makes stuff up instead. That's not how one learns to improve, which he never will. He'll just lie as long as anyone's dumb enough to employ him. Look at that convection coil! They put it in this way! Obviously used. This woman went 9 months without AC, and this is what they gave her.
I live in Tennessee and have been dealing with a serious mold problem in my apartment for about three weeks now. I’ve attached pictures because at this point, the mold has mold. 😭
I’ve called the main office multiple times and submitted several maintenance/service requests. Every time someone comes out, they tell me they fixed something, but the original mold issue is still there. It doesn’t seem like they’re actually addressing the source of the problem or properly removing the mold.
It’s also starting to affect my health and has been making my asthma flare up. I’m getting increasingly concerned because this has been going on for weeks, and I feel like the apartment complex isn’t taking it seriously.
I’m honestly just trying to figure out what my next steps should be because this is not an acceptable living situation, especially when it’s affecting my breathing.
Update: I put another service request and told them that I was going to have to get lawyers involved because I already had to go to the doctor twice. They sent someone today and said they are going to remove the affected area tomorrow. Thank you everyone who commented!!
You can kind of see them in this photo, I'm concerned because of the fan, hopefully you can see it in the photo
Hi guys!
I am in kind of an awkward situation at the apartment I am renting. I have been here 6 years but recently have gotten a new landlord. Of course once I got a new landlord all sorts of stuff starting happening. The latest is 2 instances of water damage. I have never had to deal with something like this so just trying to figure out what I should have to pay (if any?) and how to go about it. He wants to keep things off the book. So im guessing he would fix what he can on his own and is getting quotes from other people. He doesn't want to go the insure route and wants me to pay all the damage. He said he would do it as cheap as possible and I could do payment plans. He would want to have it paid off by the time my lease is up which is in 4 months, and asked if I would resign for a year for smaller payments. But that seems like too much. I rent a small upstairs apartment because I can't afford the expenses of owning a home.
To give a little more background the water damage was my shower over flowing. I intended to fix this, but someone that was staying with me took a shower and it overflowed pretty bad. the other is a leaky ac unit. I didn't realize how bad it was leaking, my bed was over the spot. He said it has been leaking since the start of summer. If I had known I would have checked sooner . I feel bad for my part in the damage occurring, but I don't know how realistic it is for me to pay this off and I don't want to do an off the book payment plan and I definitely want to move asap.
Thanks for any advice.
I know this is a home inspection community but I didn’t know where else to ask. 😅
This complex was built in 2016. I’ve been in here for the past 3 years. Since I’ve lived here, cracks have appeared in the ceiling, walls, and floor. They’ve grown wider over time and I don’t know if this should be a concern or not.
This is my first post on here, so take it easy :)
On February 4th 2026, we had an apartment fire. I was just chilling in my room when I saw black smoke coming from my window out to the balcony of our apartment, I go to check it out and the things we had on our balcony are ablaze. Luckily the fire itself didn’t get inside the unit too much but it really didn’t matter. I was in a rush to call 911 and get downstairs that I stupidly left the balcony door open, which allowed all the smoke to enter the unit. On top of that, the firefighters had to break the windows of my room and the room next to mine to fight the fire from inside. Long story short, the apartment was completely ruined. Everything was soaked, there was like 2 inches of water on the floor, the walls and everything single thing we owned was covered in soot and ash, we lost so much stuff (we have insurance so thank god for that at least). We made a fire report the same night and it came back saying that the cause of the fire was unexplained and unintentional. (If i were to guess somebody flicked their burning cigarette bud over their balcony and it landed on ours, It happened before in our building). Ever since that day my family and I have been all across the city seeking temporary housing in hotels, air bnb’s, and family members apartments. We ( my mom, little brother and I) are now currently staying at my older brother’s studio apartment. I know we are in a crisis but 4 people living in a small studio apartment is extremely uncomfortable and i’m starting to get very exhausted.
I wouldn’t be making this post if we had good communication from our apartment’s mangers and were getting updates but what I saw last week really pushed me to my limit. For the entire month of February, my family and I were clearing out the apartment. My mom rented 2 storage units to hold what was salvageable from the fire. The apartment was completely empty and ready for renovation in March. After months and months of contacting them and asking for updates, my mom finally gets an email last month in July saying that renovations have started. We were so happy at first and finally felt like this nightmare was ending, but last week when I swung by the apartment to get our mail I decided to go upstairs and take a look. ( I know that this was wrong but I was just so desperate to see the progress). What I saw completely broke me. The apartment unit was completely gutted and is a shell of what it used to be. They haven’t done dry walling, or anything really. (see pics below to see what i’m talking about). My heart literally dropped. I don’t know much about construction but what I do know from the men in my family who do, the apartment should’ve been done already. And it looks like they just started. Barely any work has been done in 6 fucking months. And the cherry on top is that my mom is still paying rent for the apartment, has been every month since the fire. For added context, my family and I are old tenants. We’ve been there for over 16 years now, and still pay a little over $1700 for a 3 bedroom. New tenants are paying upwards of $3500 for the same. I’ve always had the thought that they could and want to renovate our apartment unit and bring in new tenants to pay more for it. I’ve told my mom to contact the tenant’s board or just anybody higher up to talk to them about our situation but she is so exhausted of this ordeal that she doesn’t have the energy anymore. I feel like we’re at our witt’s end. There’s still 2 months of work (at the very least) left before we move back in, if we even do. I’m writing this so you guys could give me some advice or anything on what to do. I feel like my back is up against a wall.
I moved to Purdue earlier this week from Vietnam for my PhD. The weather itself doesn't bother me much, but my lease agreement and various online sources keep saying that if I let the humidity go above 60%, there's a serious risk of mold developing on the walls, ceiling, etc.
However, I'm not a big fan of using the AC, not only because of the electricity consumption, but also because anything below 80F feels uncomfortable to me. The problem is that the humidity only stays around 60% if I set the AC to at least 70-72F. If I leave it at 80F, the humidity stays around 70-75%.
For those of you who live in the area, what's your experience been with mold? Do you actually keep your apartment below 60% humidity all the time?
Just rented this unit and noticed this ooze coming up from the floor. When I sent the photos to management I was told “It is glue that rises with high heats.” However the floors are not new so I’m not sure that that is possible. Any thoughts out there?
Today is Saturday morning. Yesterday (Friday) my fiancé and I (who live in a 2 bed apartment with around 12 other apartments in the building) noticed a spot in our living room ceiling the size of a trash can lid that looked like mold. We both noticed it right away and moved in a month ago so we know it is a new spot. My fiancé went to touch the area to see if it’s wet and his finger went right through the ceiling. We called our emergency maintenance and they essentially said because we’re on the top floor, there’s nothing they can do until monday because they’ll have to go on the roof, but told us what to do in the meantime which we had already done to ventilate the area, move our belongings, and put a bag on the ceiling to catch any water. While we get that it is a weekend, i’m concerned because mold is toxic and the moisture is unknown above the ceiling which could mean it could cave at any time. It’s also supposed to rain all night from Sunday night into Monday morning, which could be a problem if the issue is in fact the roof. I’m wondering if we should push the issue to get someone out again and call the emergency line. Our leasing office is open from 10am-4pm and there is an on call maintenance person. I don’t agree with waiting until Monday for an issue that could escalate into safety hazards for us and compromise our belongings. Am i right to push the issue today to see what could be done?
Hi! I was gone from my apartment this summer while all of my roommates moved out, and came back today. I’ve found that the carpet and plush surfaces have felt slightly damp, and it definitely feels a bit humid in my apartment. I live in an area of the US where summers are as humid as they are hot but I haven’t dealt with anything like this. I have not noticed any mold (except for my toilet lid because I accidentally left it down for 3 months, whoops). Is there a potential reason for this? How urgently does this need to be fixed? Should I contact maintenance?
Working on a townhome make ready today and took a little bathroom break in the bathroom. within about a minute I noticed my ass start to sweat and looked around for a heated seat of some sort, turned around and touched the porcelain and it felt like hot concrete. Opened up the tank to confirm that the toilet is filling with HOT water not cold. Never came across this before, I assume it’s a problem with the construction and will need some heavy work if we have to fix it. Anyone else come across this before?
Guys, I’ve NEVER experienced anything like this and I’m genuinely freaking out 😭 I have never seen a roach in my apartment—not once.
Our entire floor just received this paper notice saying pest control is coming Tuesday for cockroach treatment. I called management because obviously I wanted to know what was going on and asked whether roaches were actually found inside someone’s unit or if one was just spotted outside/in a common area. They basically told me, “We can’t disclose that information.” Like… what?! 😭 I’m not asking who specifically lives there, I just want to know what kind of situation we’re dealing with. Because who knows.
This is also a HUGE, newer apartment complex, so I was completely caught off guard. Someone directly across from me recently moved out, so of course my brain immediately went to, “Was it their unit?” I have no idea though and management won’t tell me anything.
I’ve been freaking myself out and deep cleaning my entire apartment, getting rid of unnecessary stuff, and checking everything. Pest control is treating the floor Tuesday, and I’m honestly planning on packing up and staying with my family for the week because I don’t even want to be here while this is happening. I’m terrified of seeing one and genuinely don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep without thinking something is crawling around 😭
Thankfully, we’re already moving out in a few weeks, which makes me feel a little better. But now I’m paranoid about somehow bringing anything with us to our new apartment
. If that’s how this even works idk. Has anyone dealt with something similar in a large apartment complex? What should I actually be doing before pest control comes, and more importantly, what precautions should I take while packing/moving to make sure we don’t bring anything with us? Am I overreacting by deep cleaning and going through everything even though I haven’t personally seen a single roach and they saying it’s OUTSIDE in the hallway? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a roach in real life before honestly. Any advice would be SO appreciated because I’m petrified 😭
I’m getting ready to move out of my apartment and the clean up is looking bleak. Unfortunately my cats liked to use my door as a scratcher and as a result, a lot of the wood is stripped off or chipping. Is there any thing I can do to at least get it presentable?
My property management is awful and I know they will be trying to charge me for every little last thing.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Also I know it’s terrible and I should have stopped the behavior sooner but I’m a sucker and my cats run this house. I just pay for it 😂
Its in the bedrooms walk in closet. Its me and my husbands new apartment. The closet shelves and rails are metal but the spots look like mold patterns. Im not sure and does this need me to call maintenance to fix it? Im also noticing the closet smells a little strange? Enough that I notice it when I walked in. I was just about to move my clothes in but now im worried. I havent noticed it before?
I recently moved to a new apartment, on the third and final floor of a relatively old building (probably built around 1960s if I had to guess).
One thing I’ve noticed in the past week or so is that around 11-ish at night, there’s a scratching noise coming from the outer walls of the place— never the inner walls, and most of it is toward the ceiling I’m pretty sure.
It sounds like mice or some other small creature if I had to guess— I’ve heard very similar sounds in my family’s house, where every year some creature would hunker down in the attic/wall space (we suspect flying squirrel or bat). Drove me insane there too, not there was no possible damage for it to do (all insulation where it was) and it was only ever an issue every couple weeks out of the year so my family didn’t do anything about it.
I’m a bit of an anxious person so I guess I wanted a different opinion other than my own on this though. Is it time to call maintenance like I suspect? The company I’m with I know is good about that generally since I’ve rented from them before, but anything I can do to make sure they follow through? Or am I overthinking this?