Any one else have Issues with Apartment Complex Maintaince keying in ?

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wavedancer

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I'm just wondering if I am the only Deafie with this Issue.

When I moved into my New apartment I asked the manager very politely if Maintaince could not key in, because it would scare the snot out of me, and make me feel unsafe. Because I'm Daf I'd never know if there was someone in teh apartment or not. The manger said they wouldn't key in but on Monday, I saw the kittens run by and went to the door, only to find the maintaince guy, with his head and arm already in the apartment ! I know I had an appoinment for "Monday afternoon", but he scared the bejeebers out of me !

I don't have a doorbell yet, because the apartment didn't provide one with a blinky light and the old one is still at the poisonous house in Canada. I've ordered a doorbell online, but it will take at least a week to get here.

Has anyone else ever had this happen? If you did, what did you do about it ?

This is the third time it's happened to me. The first time the apartment complex backed down and provided a blinky light door bell. The last time I was basically told to "suck it up".

I'm wondering why the maintaince man just can't come back another time when it's not an emergency, and leave a note. Does that seem too much to ask?
 
Laws vary by state in regards to apartment entry, whether by management (landlord) or maintenance. Generally, if it is an emergency (like a fire,) they can enter any time if needed. If it is not an emergency, and just routine maintenance (such as your case), then some notice is required. Here in MN I believe it is 24 hours' notice. Anyway, because you had an appointment already set, that takes the place of the notice. I am assuming here that maintenance may not have known you were deaf, and when he knocked and there was no reply, he likely assumed no one was home. It was probably an innocent mistake - have your landlord talk to maintenance and inform them the occupant(s) of your apartment are deaf. I totally understand you not wanting someone to just enter because it would scare you -- heck it would scare me too since I would never hear the door unlocking.
 
I was trying to sell my condo and the real estate guy knocked on my door and when I did not answer he thought I was not home and came in with some buyers just as I was walking out of my bathroom with only a towel wrapped around me! I yelled out wait a minute! I think you need to let people know you're deaf so something like this won't happen to you too! It was
embarrassing have that happen!
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I was trying to sell my condo and the real estate guy knocked on my door and when I did not answer he thought I was not home and came in with some buyers just as I was walking out of my bathroom with only a towel wrapped around me! I yelled out wait a minute! I think you need to let people know you're deaf so something like this won't happen to you too! It was
embarrassing have that happen!
Click to expand...

Basically, the same thing happened to me....I just stepped out of the shower, was going down the hall butt-naked and ran right smack into the maintenance guy!....I screamed, ran back into the bathroom and locked the door....thinking the man was going to attempt to rape me or something.....

I stayed in that bathroom for hours!...Until someone finally pushed a note under the door, saying the man had left and to "please come out"....it was the Manager of the Complex.....

What happened was: some friends of mine had come by my apt., but I did not answer the door (it was locked also)...They went to the office and asked if someone would let them in since I was deaf.......so the Maintenance man "trying to be helpful" did just that......WELL...I could not get over the incident....it was very embarrassing....so I moved out of that Complex.....Let ur Manager know that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES they are NOT to let anyone inside ur apt.
 
*Breathes a sigh of relief*

OK, so I guess I need to talk to them again. The manager knows I am Deaf. I'll ask them to write it down somewhere in front of me, or go talk to the head maintaince guy myself. The head Maintaince guy met my Husband and was told I was Deaf. One of the reasons I was so upset was because they BOTH told me it wouldn't happen.

The maintaince man who did it is mostly forgiven, on account of him signing to me, "Come back". Apearently that particular maintaince knows ASL. How he knows ASL without knowing that you don't just enter a Deaf person's living space is beyond me.

Whatdidyousay! - I've had similar expereinces. It's awful embaressing ! I think I even published a story about it once. Maybe if I bribed the maintaince department with home- made cookies or brownies it won't happen again? I pretty much tell everyone I am Deaf, to the point that I wonder if it's a good idea. (Wonders, Hrmm, will people take advantage of me if everyone knows I am Deaf ? ) Mostly people don't seem to notice.

I'll have to look up what the law for florida is... and bake cookies !
 
rockin'robin said:
Basically, the same thing happened to me....I just stepped out of the shower, was going down the hall butt-naked and ran right smack into the maintenance guy!....I screamed, ran back into the bathroom and locked the door....thinking the man was going to attempt to rape me or something.....

I stayed in that bathroom for hours!...Until someone finally pushed a note under the door, saying the man had left and to "please come out"....it was the Manager of the Complex.....

What happened was: some friends of mine had come by my apt., but I did not answer the door (it was locked also)...They went to the office and asked if someone would let them in since I was deaf.......so the Maintenance man "trying to be helpful" did just that......WELL...I could not get over the incident....it was very embarrassing....so I moved out of that Complex.....Let ur Manager know that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES they are NOT to let anyone inside ur apt.
Click to expand...

Sorry you had such a horrid experiance ! I don't blame you for moving.

I just drove close to 4000 miles and moved in LAST WEEK. But yeah, I've already thought of moving. I also thought of booby trapping the door, but I hear that's illegal.
Alarming, the door however, isn't Illegal. I COULD build a trip wire that set off an 120 Decibel noise and a BIG blinky light.

But that might be over-reacting :giggle:

Can y'all tell I'm really upset by this?
 
No need to move yet. Just talk to your manager and explain your situation.
 
rockin'robin said:
Basically, the same thing happened to me....I just stepped out of the shower, was going down the hall butt-naked and ran right smack into the maintenance guy!....I screamed, ran back into the bathroom and locked the door....thinking the man was going to attempt to rape me or something.....

I stayed in that bathroom for hours!...Until someone finally pushed a note under the door, saying the man had left and to "please come out"....it was the Manager of the Complex.....

What happened was: some friends of mine had come by my apt., but I did not answer the door (it was locked also)...They went to the office and asked if someone would let them in since I was deaf.......so the Maintenance man "trying to be helpful" did just that......WELL...I could not get over the incident....it was very embarrassing....so I moved out of that Complex.....Let ur Manager know that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES they are NOT to let anyone inside ur apt.
Click to expand...

The maintenance guy was crazy to believe the people were your friends and let them in! They could had been anyone off the street trying to rob you! I would had reported that maintenance guy ! People had tried to get me to move to senior housing and I say "NO WAY!!" I was health aid and I know the
maintenance guy came go into your apartment any time with when you are not home and I do not like that at all.
I was once at my sister's house for the holiday and I just gotten out of the shower naked and went into another room thinking no one in it as I did not hear anyone!! WRONG my sister step daughter and husband was in the room! Talk about being embarrassed! I am getting embarrassed thinking about it!!
 
stay out!

First of all your rental contract should spell out when your apt can be entered. Checking florida laws can be a help but I assume most states are the same since it is common sense that they can mot enter without notice. I read the local newspaper and the realestate section often mentions this. You have a lot of rights when you have a contract and uppermost is privacy and saftey. The maint. Guy had no right to enter your apt. Even if he cab sign.
Advertising the fact that yu are deaf is not really adviseable. I have had my house broken into twice and other attempts and it is just me in the area, I fifured it was cuz too many people knew I am deaf.
Your being female adds to the need for caution. Sunny fla diesnt mean all people have sunny personaities.
Be safe. Be over cautious.
 
:giggle:
DDU said:
First of all your rental contract should spell out when your apt can be entered. Checking florida laws can be a help but I assume most states are the same since it is common sense that they can mot enter without notice. I read the local newspaper and the realestate section often mentions this. You have a lot of rights when you have a contract and uppermost is privacy and saftey. The maint. Guy had no right to enter your apt. Even if he cab sign.
Advertising the fact that yu are deaf is not really adviseable. I have had my house broken into twice and other attempts and it is just me in the area, I fifured it was cuz too many people knew I am deaf.
Your being female adds to the need for caution. Sunny fla diesnt mean all people have sunny personaities.
Be safe. Be over cautious.
Click to expand...

So I read the rental contract over again just to make sure. :hmm: It says they have the right to key in IF I am not home and IF it is an emergency. Since i was home and it wasn't an emergency, i went to talk to them AGAIN.

*pulls at hair* The first office girl did not seem to understand, "I'm Deaf, I can't hear you." After the tenth repeat of, "Look, I am really Deaf and I Really cannot hear you." (In English and in ASL and her holding my "hearie please write it down", book.) Someone who I've talked to before came in and took the book away from her and apoligized profusely. It's NOT supposed to happen again and she semed pretty horrified it had. I told them unless there were flames, shooting out of the window NO keyying in to the apartment... NO flames, NO keying in. They are supposed to call my i711 number before showing up. She even asked for the sign for "You're Welcome" :giggle:

I'll see how it goes on Monday. The blinky light door bell came and they want maintaince to install it, and they need to fix some things.

I wonder if putting a glass breakage Alarm on the windows and a trip wire on the door, is being over cautious or paranoid ?
 
Doesn't your apartment have double deadbolts?

Every apartment I've lived in had 2 deadbolts. The bottom being the one that works inside (knob) and outside (key)... and the top one being inside (knob) only. So, whenever I'm fine with authorized people coming in my apartment while I'm there... I'll leave the top unlocked. If I'm busy (shower, bath, bathroom, sleeping, etc), then I'll lock the top. :)
 
VamPyroX said:
Doesn't your apartment have double deadbolts?

Every apartment I've lived in had 2 deadbolts. The bottom being the one that works inside (knob) and outside (key)... and the top one being inside (knob) only. So, whenever I'm fine with authorized people coming in my apartment while I'm there... I'll leave the top unlocked. If I'm busy (shower, bath, bathroom, sleeping, etc), then I'll lock the top. :)
Click to expand...

Nope, only came with the one with a key :( Going to do something about that today though. Also going to ask for the one without the key. Monday should be interesting. :hmm:

BTW I have a monitered alarm system. I can't hear it but the police station can, It will go off next time someone keys in.
 
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It is a shame that some apartments wont provide strobe lights for their deaf tenants. All of that drama could have been avoided. It is really simple and I have had apartments managements be willing to do that and some who werent. As for this problem that the OP has, I cant recall having any issues when I used to live in apartments. It has been so long.
 
apt laws

by law(ADA) the apt management is supposed to make accommodations for your disability. i had the same issue a few years ago when i was living in an apt and i could have made a big stink and forced them to put in the strobe doorbell and strobe fire alarms. was too much hassle at the time since it took so long for me just to find the apt itself. today i was reading something about the Brooklyn NY local government making things more accessible for deaf. it also said that deaf people ARE targeted for robberies and other crimes !! i know deaf who will hide their doorbell flasher so that no one can see that a deaf person lives there. i got my house more secure and always called the police so that the people in the area could see that i wasn't gonna accept break ins.
 
Many, many times, I've had people tell me..."don't tell ur neighbors you are deaf"....it makes you a target for an easy break-in.....I have ADT signs in front and the back...a baseball bat by the front door....I've had a few break-ins in the past, but I can't prove it was because of my deafness. That's why I've always had a good, barking dog! And I'm not "overly friendly" with my neighbors. So the word is caution at all times, if you live alone. I've got 3 big, strapping sons with me, so I feel pretty safe where I'm at. And 24-hr. security....For the most part, my neighbors keep to themselves, but do wave when I'm outside and a friendly "Hello".
 
wavedancer said:
*Breathes a sigh of relief*

OK, so I guess I need to talk to them again. The manager knows I am Deaf. I'll ask them to write it down somewhere in front of me, or go talk to the head maintaince guy myself. The head Maintaince guy met my Husband and was told I was Deaf. One of the reasons I was so upset was because they BOTH told me it wouldn't happen.

The maintaince man who did it is mostly forgiven, on account of him signing to me, "Come back". Apearently that particular maintaince knows ASL. How he knows ASL without knowing that you don't just enter a Deaf person's living space is beyond me.

Whatdidyousay! - I've had similar expereinces. It's awful embaressing ! I think I even published a story about it once. Maybe if I bribed the maintaince department with home- made cookies or brownies it won't happen again? I pretty much tell everyone I am Deaf, to the point that I wonder if it's a good idea. (Wonders, Hrmm, will people take advantage of me if everyone knows I am Deaf ? ) Mostly people don't seem to notice.

I'll have to look up what the law for florida is... and bake cookies !
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about worrying about telling the wrong person you're deaf. My hearing wear a jacket that said 'hearing dog' on both side and the red leash and collar had this too. People were starting to follow me out of the grocery store trying to read the vest or leash. I got fed up with this and did not like everyone knowing I am HOH so I took the patches off the vest and got a new red leash. People have not ran their grocery carts into me since i got my dog. It is really nice being able to go shopping and NOT have some ass run their grocery cart into my ankles because I did not hear then trying to pass me. Some people are really rude!
 
If you've already explained that you are deaf and asked them not to enter if you don't answer the door, then these are either very callous or very stupid people. They cannot enter unless you give consent (unless it's an emergency). For routine inspections, they must provide at least 24hr notice.

I used to be the maintenance supervisor for a LARGE apartment complex. Even with 250 units, we were very aware of which apartments had people with special needs, and if a tenant requested some sort of accommodation, we made it easily.

Why not give them your cell # and tell them to txt you before they enter. That is a very reasonable request. Tenants would often ask us to call first before entering (I assume cause they wanted to hide their bongs. lol, as if we cared), and this was not a problem at all for us. If your apartment complex cannot or is not willing to accommodate you, I suggest you look for a different place to live. It's just an indication of how they are going to treat you in the future...

Good luck.
 
DDU said:
by law(ADA) the apt management is supposed to make accommodations for your disability. i had the same issue a few years ago when i was living in an apt and i could have made a big stink and forced them to put in the strobe doorbell and strobe fire alarms. was too much hassle at the time since it took so long for me just to find the apt itself. today i was reading something about the Brooklyn NY local government making things more accessible for deaf. it also said that deaf people ARE targeted for robberies and other crimes !! i know deaf who will hide their doorbell flasher so that no one can see that a deaf person lives there. i got my house more secure and always called the police so that the people in the area could see that i wasn't gonna accept break ins.
Click to expand...

When I lived in Berkeley, Ca. I had a wood stove and kept my ax behind my front door! I was having work done on the my house and one guy told any other guy not to mess with me as I keep an ax behind my door!
 
no gun

whatdidyousay! said:
When I lived in Berkeley, Ca. I had a wood stove and kept my ax behind my front door! I was having work done on the my house and one guy told any other guy not to mess with me as I keep an ax behind my door!
Click to expand...
dont need a gun for protection. an ax is a lot more handy. f you had a gun you would first have to find the key to unlock the lock on the gun which is the law. then you have to find the ammo then you have to chase the robber down the street cuz he got out with all our cash while you were trying to get your gunlock open. i used to have my guns in the house but no more, the one beak in took a shotgun and who knows where that is now.
best protection is to have a plan in your mind before you need it. dogs are great to have, but i was robbed when i was out walking the dog !! around here it is mostly kids, teens and they will talk with each other about likely targets.
 
Our laws are different. We can keep our guns unlocked and loaded at home.

When I was young, we lived in rentals but I don't ever recall a landlord just letting himself in without permission.
 
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