not feeling safe in apt?

Question

Ok. well the apt i live in has only two stories. there is two sides with 4 apts on each side. I am on the bottom and have a sliding glass door. awhile back i came home to find a man trying to get into the glass door. I called 911 and filed a police report. than i called the leasing agent and they told me not to tell anyone who also lives here. They said they where going to make it that you have to have a key to get into the building. Tonight some teenage boys where hanging out by my apt door and walking all around the building. No one on my half has a teenage kid. I am at the point where i do not feel safe anymore. my lease is not up till the last day of may. i have tried to talk to the leasing agent and they said i could go if i payed them about 2 grand. what can i do? thanks

yea. i cant move tonight.

i am glad you find it so amusing

Answer 1

That's not being very proactive of your apartment manager. They should be alerting the rest of the tenants, mustering aide from them to help keep your units safe. Like an area Crime Watch group or something. If I were you, I would bring that up. Be insistent that something be done. Tell them that you don't feel safe. And tell your neighbors what's going on. Don't cow tow to the management team. It doesn't look like they are managing very well......it seems that they're just trying to sweep it under the rug.

Answer 2

This is what I would do.

1. Tell the other tenants - they deserve to know and you will all be safer if you are all aware.

2. Carefully measure the space that the sliding glass door slides into. You don't need a fancy gadget, a sawed off hockey stick or broom stick will do. Or go to a hardware store and have them cut a 2x2 to the right length.

3. Carry a cell phone, preferally one with a camera. Anytime you see anyone just hanging around, make a point of aiming the phone at them. Actually it doesn't matter much if there is really a camera in the phone or not. The whole point is to make it obvious to questionable people that they are observed and recorded.

Answer 3

I understand your plight, but some of those 'humorous' replies are right on the money. "Not feeling safe" is absolutely NO excuse for termination of a lease contract. Furthermore, if the management is providing appropriate building security, there's not much more they can do, unless you expect them to provide an onsite 24/7 security guard.

You CAN leave early, but the penalties for doing so have been laid out clearly for you. You signed a legal binding lease contract, and they apparently are going to hold you to the terms of what you signed.

If you cannot afford the termination fees or just don't want to pay them, then you can stay and take a few measures on your own. Secure your patio door with one of those bars which prevent it from opening. You can also purchase inexpensive 'fake' security cameras which you can easily mount in obvious locations inside, as well as stickers for your door which indicate that you subscribe to a security service (even if you don't subscribe. Put up as much stuff as you can to indicate that there IS a security service engaged. It's amazing how many would-be thieves are deterred by such items, since they don't know for sure if you're faking it or not.

All that being said, I don't blame management for not letting you out of the contract for the reasons you cite. Can you imagine just how often such an excuse would be used by tenants to break a lease if such an excuse were valid and recognized under law ? Anyone who wanted to terminate would simply claim "I don't feel safe".

Good luck with your issues.

Answer 4

AGITATE! AGITATE! AGITATE! Keep on your Landlord until they provide you with some safety.

You could look into getting a home security system. I know your lease is up in May, but it might help you sleep at night.

If you can't do that:
1.) Buy some outside lights, the kind that come on when someone triggers it. Have a friend install them if you cannot.

2.) Buy a home surveillance camera. You can buy a decent one, and a decent price at Kmart, Target, or your local hardware store.

3.) Most places won't allow you to keep dogs, but if they allow you, I'd suggest that.

4.) Lastly, buy some mace, a baseball bat, or even a handgun.

Bare in mind, I'm just trying to give you options. My wife, my kids and I live in a not so good area. We live on a corner of two main roads, and a huge parking lot right beside our porch. So we always have strangers walking nearby. I installed lights, bought a surveillance camera, and a handgun.

I plan to move out as soon as my lease is over, but in the meantime I have to keep my family as safe as possible.

I hope this helps you, and I'll be sure to include you in my prayers.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Look around the hardware store for a locking bar for the sliding door. make sure you have blinds that close all the way so nobody can see in. Carry pepper spray and a cell phone with you at all times and call the police if there are people hanging out in the halls. and talk to all you neighbors and make sure they know about the guy and the kids. The best way to help yourself is to help your neighbors. if you want out of the lease, just don't pay the rent, find a new apartment and move and let them evict you are serve you with abandonment papers. They will not take you to court for so little money it will cost them too much time and money themselves. Good luck and stay safe.

Answer 6

Contact your city government to find out what the regulations are for apartments. You may even have a Tenant Union that looks out for tenant's rights. There are usually city ordinances that require the landlord provides appropriate security meaures. If the landlord is not following these security regulations, it will give you some ammunition to get out of your lease. You can tell them that you will report them to the city if they don't let you out of the lease. If they still insist on charging you, seek help from the city or maybe even a lawyer.

Answer 7

Well, it sounds like you are going to have to stick it out in order to fulfill your lease requirements. You might want to start planning now so that you will be ready to move by May. Talk to your local police dept. to see if there is anyway to make your place more secure until you do move. I don't think dogs or a gun would be the way to go, but you might want to invest in a security light or alarms on the doors.

Answer 8

I can not see any pretext for breaking the lease as the ground floor was the ground floor when you moved in and signed the lease.

Now if you were a very noisy tennant and they wanted to get rid of you, the lease breaking price might go down.

You do not mention whether your lease allows you to find a replacement tennant. I mean find another person who likes ground floor.

Answer 9

I am sorry for you...that's really crummy! Tenants do have rights. I don't know what state you live in but this article may give you a place to start. Try to google your state and it's tenant rights laws. Good luck to you.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/4CD1CCEC-B438-44E7-839A9E66F983760B/catID/458FCF42-D150-4F2D-A25D38F73C8EEA6B/104/138/160/ART/

Answer 10

you might want to talk to the corp. company and explain to them what's going on or if u see anyone outside by ur doors call the cops:)