can they do this??

Question

I live in a condo and i had the maintnence man come herew caue ouer one toilet does not flush. He says they cannot fix it because they have to shut the water off in the whole complex so they said they cant fix it. I have not stayed here for a few days cause of this. Its a 1 bathroom. Can they even do that???

Answer 1

Come on ... to fix a toilet - look at the tank and follow that tube down that goes into the floor - it should have a little turn off knob on it.

All he has to do is turn the knob off and he can pull the whole toilet out and put in a new one and just hook up the tube to it again.

Call the health department - there is NO WAY that the whole complex if there is a broken water line in your sink - would have to shut the water off to the whole complex to fix it - nor for your toilet - they are just messing with you - OR -

They hired their nephew that don't know a thing about fixing things - but; needed the paycheck.

I believe it is a building code that EACH CONDO has it's own turn off valve ... what if there was a fire???? and one condo got torched??? Would you think for a minute that because the water lines melted in it - that the whole complex would have to be shut down???

Nope - look at your toilet and see it for yourself - there is a knob to the back tank water line that can simply be twisted shut - it is pretty much standard and I have never seen a home without that feature.

Hope this helped.

Peace;

Aintmyfault
.

Answer 2

1st- check and make sure there is a chain still attached to the handle on the toilet in the tank.
I think I would call an outside plumber or a friendly man neighbor-
I think you maintenance man must be on crack if he told you he had to shut water off to the entire complex to fix a toilet.

At the bottom of your toilet right next to the wall should be a cutoff valve for the water that goes into the toilet. It'll be a silver knob probably shaped like an oval.
Normally when a toilet will not flush it is the mechanics inside the toilet. The entire kit to refit the flusher inside the toilet can be purchased at Lowes or any other hardware store for that matter even Walmart carries them. You can usually purchase these kits for under $20.00 and it takes maybe an hour to put the entire kit in the toilet.

Answer 3

Only if you own the condo, they can do that.....if you pay rent, withhold the next check and give the superintendent or whomever a small note saying that you are withholding rent until the toilet is fixed, also you must call the health dept. in your city.....there are a ton of things a landlord must do, you'll be amazed, if you're missing a tile in the bathroom that is grounds for withholding funds, if the stove or kitchen appliances came with the apartment and they are not working it's the landlords responsibility to fix or replace them. Put your rent aside and give the landlord the opportunity to fix the mess. If you own, call an attorney and ask for a consultation, they'll give you the answer on the phone.

Answer 4

They can do anything they want as long as they are willing to live with the consequences.

But really, you need to check your lease agreement, but if they are responsible for the repairs to the plumbing then they can not leave you in an apartment with no toilet. They have to pay for a motel or put you in another one of their apartments. IF the contract says they are responsible. There could be all kinds of loop holes, such as "unless damaged by lessee/renter" and then you will probably have to fight them.

Good Luck, stand up for yourself, the worse thing that can happen is they evict you, and who wants to live someplace without a toilet anyway (and then you would have cause to sue).

Answer 5

They have to fix it! They would give everyone notice that they will have to shut off the water. You could fix it yourself and deduct it from the rent. But first I would send a nicely worded letter. If something interfers with your normal living, and it is a necessity, then they are required to keep it in working order. Do you own or rent? If you own, look at the maintenance agreement. If you rent you can look up tennant's rights on the internet. Good luck.

Answer 6

I would have to believe that they are obligated to repair a toilet as this is a health and safety issue. I see no reason why water would need to be shut down to a whole complex to fix one broken toilet. Contact your landlord and file the necessary paperwork to have it fixed immediately.

Answer 7

If you own the condo, then the maintenance man works for you just as much as he works for anyone. He should fix it, if he can. If he is just a general maintenance man, then he may not have the plumbing certification you need (and you would want) to fix it properly. Call a plumber, open up that wallet, and welcome to the wonderful world of home ownership.

Answer 8

That is completely and totally illegal. If they have to shut of water to the whole complex, they need to notify your neighbors and try to do it at a time when it will inconvenience the fewest people. They can not use it as an excuse to not do the repair.

Answer 9

Call the office and speak to the property manager or find out what company owns the property and speak to their office. Let them know that it is unacceptable that you were told you had to live without a toilet and also ask them how they are going to compensate you for having to live somewhere else.

Answer 10

Look at your homeowners association contract. If toliets are something that are covered for repair, then they have to fix it. Contact someone higher up then the handy man.

Besides, why would he have to turn off the water to the complex? You can just turn off the water to the toliet.