Do I have to let cable technicians in my apartment?
August 10, 2015 4:14 PM Subscribe
The cable in my building is out. At least one of my neighbors is affected by this, and my cable is also out; however, I don't use mine so I don't care. The cable people want to come cut a hole in my wall. This will be very loud, require multiple visits, and take at least 45 minutes. I am seriously ill and for various reasons this will be catastrophically disruptive for me. I said no. Do they have the legal right to force this on me? I wonder, also, if the landlord has to give permission - they want to cut a totally gratuitous hole in a place that can be clearly seen.
Response by poster: I should have said that I live in Emeryville, California.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:31 PM on August 10, 2015
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:31 PM on August 10, 2015
Response by poster: I don't know what the landlord thinks about this, I don't think they've talked to her yet.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:32 PM on August 10, 2015
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:32 PM on August 10, 2015
Yeah this is gonna be the landlord's call.
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:34 PM on August 10, 2015
posted by prize bull octorok at 4:34 PM on August 10, 2015
Are they cutting a hole to the outside? Or cutting a hole into the next apartment?
If they are running new cable and drilling a new hole, just let them do it. I can't think of any reason this is worth fighting. If you refuse entry, the landlord might even bill you for additional service calls. Is this a building provided amenity? If it is, then you have to let them do the work if they give proper 24 hrs notice.
If they are cutting an actual hole... I'm confused why they would do this. Can you explain further? Are they running new cable through your apartment into your neighbors?
posted by jbenben at 4:39 PM on August 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
If they are running new cable and drilling a new hole, just let them do it. I can't think of any reason this is worth fighting. If you refuse entry, the landlord might even bill you for additional service calls. Is this a building provided amenity? If it is, then you have to let them do the work if they give proper 24 hrs notice.
If they are cutting an actual hole... I'm confused why they would do this. Can you explain further? Are they running new cable through your apartment into your neighbors?
posted by jbenben at 4:39 PM on August 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't think you are going to have much luck with this stance if the landlord is on board (and I am assuming s/he would be if this is required for the other tenants to have access to cable); it looks like in California a landlord has the right to enter the apartment to make repairs with reasonable notice at reasonable hours. Cite.
Definitely discuss this with your landlord, and request that if they need to cut a hole it is patched in a timely manner/made as discreet as possible.
posted by charmedimsure at 4:39 PM on August 10, 2015
Definitely discuss this with your landlord, and request that if they need to cut a hole it is patched in a timely manner/made as discreet as possible.
posted by charmedimsure at 4:39 PM on August 10, 2015
Landlord should be notifying you of the work needing to be done with appropriate notice and I'd also want the landlord to tell me in writing that the wall-cutting is approved and the wall will be returned to an acceptable state with no charge to me.
posted by quince at 4:41 PM on August 10, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by quince at 4:41 PM on August 10, 2015 [8 favorites]
are you sure it's "cutting"? it may just be a drilled hole. it's noisy, but not 45 minutes of noise - maybe 5. plus people wandering around for 40m pushing cables, adding boxes, whatever.
posted by andrewcooke at 4:45 PM on August 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by andrewcooke at 4:45 PM on August 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: OK, I don't want to get into the details of my health issues, but the last time I had construction in here it took literally months for me to recover; I am really fragile, this is actually dangerous for me.
There is an existing cable that runs through the wall, from my apartment to my neighbor's apartment. They are not laying new cable. The existing cable is malfunctioning. The explanation they gave as to why they needed to cut a hole and look at my cable didn't make sense to me. They don't seem to understand what is actually wrong and have been trying to fix it for more than a week. Why not cut a hole in her apartment? I didn't understand that part, but I don't know anything about cable so maybe they have a good reason.
I am trying to reach the landlord now. She hasn't agreed yet. It is a building provided amenity.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:51 PM on August 10, 2015
There is an existing cable that runs through the wall, from my apartment to my neighbor's apartment. They are not laying new cable. The existing cable is malfunctioning. The explanation they gave as to why they needed to cut a hole and look at my cable didn't make sense to me. They don't seem to understand what is actually wrong and have been trying to fix it for more than a week. Why not cut a hole in her apartment? I didn't understand that part, but I don't know anything about cable so maybe they have a good reason.
I am trying to reach the landlord now. She hasn't agreed yet. It is a building provided amenity.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:51 PM on August 10, 2015
Response by poster: I guess it would be better if I just explained more about the health issues. I have a rare condition that affects both my heart and my brain. I am so weak from the heart problems that it's hard for me to walk even down the hallway. At the same time, I am severely sensitive to noise, to the point that when they came to install a fire alarm last year, I didn't recover from the loud noises for literally months. That was only a few minutes of loud noise. It's not just that it will be annoying or I will be tired for a few days.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:57 PM on August 10, 2015
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 4:57 PM on August 10, 2015
I think you are confusing your health issues with your landlord's legal obligations to repair your apartment complex.
Your health issues do not pose any legal obligations on your landlord except to the extent which they affect your rights under the Fair Housing Act for your disability (health issue).
Your landlord may or may not have the right to install a useless hole in your wall. They definitely have the right to fix your cable, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can do so in a way that substantively affects the utility of your apartment. However, this has nothing to do with your health condition.
If you want to pursue FHA action against your landlord, you will need a lawyer familiar with disability law.
If you want to pursue action against your landlord for making your apartment less attractive, you will need a lawyer familiar with housing law.
These are distinct issues, and they need to be treated that way for you to get a useful outcome. Unfortunately, I suggest that you have substantially more chance of succeeding under the FHA (which will require substantially more legal help) than by suggesting that your landlord can't repair your apartment complex's cable utility (when the landlord has the legal right to access your apartment provided sufficient notice whether you want them to or not).
posted by saeculorum at 5:08 PM on August 10, 2015 [10 favorites]
Your health issues do not pose any legal obligations on your landlord except to the extent which they affect your rights under the Fair Housing Act for your disability (health issue).
Your landlord may or may not have the right to install a useless hole in your wall. They definitely have the right to fix your cable, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can do so in a way that substantively affects the utility of your apartment. However, this has nothing to do with your health condition.
If you want to pursue FHA action against your landlord, you will need a lawyer familiar with disability law.
If you want to pursue action against your landlord for making your apartment less attractive, you will need a lawyer familiar with housing law.
These are distinct issues, and they need to be treated that way for you to get a useful outcome. Unfortunately, I suggest that you have substantially more chance of succeeding under the FHA (which will require substantially more legal help) than by suggesting that your landlord can't repair your apartment complex's cable utility (when the landlord has the legal right to access your apartment provided sufficient notice whether you want them to or not).
posted by saeculorum at 5:08 PM on August 10, 2015 [10 favorites]
I think you need to find a way to be out of your apartment while they do the work. Can the landlord come in and monitor the work while you go to a common area or another apartment in the building? Do you have a wheelchair so you don't have to walk? I think that should be what you aim for. Get out while they make noise and are disruptive. Come back once it's done.
posted by clone boulevard at 5:33 PM on August 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by clone boulevard at 5:33 PM on August 10, 2015 [6 favorites]
Do you ever leave your apartment? How big is the apartment complex? Could the landlord lend you a quiet place to sit and relax during the work? EMpty apartment? Extra office in the management office?
If this is available, I would ask for it, ask for the landlord to provide a superintendnet or bonded maintenance worker to let the cable guy into your apartment, to watch the installers and to make sure it is cleaned up afterward. The point is that I think between you and the landlord you can come up with a compromise that addresses your health needs while addressing her rights as a landlord.
If you never leave your apartment and you have a room to be in seperate from where the work is being done, I would get earplugs plus noise cancellation headphones, would seal the room from the inside with plastic over the door and any windows and hang some blankets against the wall exposed or closest to the work. This will dampen sound. I would also ask the landlord if, like above, they can provide a bonded worker to monitor the work and to ensure it is cleaned afterwards. Also, I would meet the actual workers and explain the situation to them before going into your room. I think if they have seen you, heard you, unless they are outright assholes or bad people, they will try to minimize the disruption while doing their jobs.
It does not sound like you have a lot of good options. Your best hope is to minimize the disruption, not prevent it.
I would, assuming I had a cordial relationship with the neighbors, try to talk to them too. They may offer some solution or consider options other than busting up your wall.
posted by AugustWest at 5:39 PM on August 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
If this is available, I would ask for it, ask for the landlord to provide a superintendnet or bonded maintenance worker to let the cable guy into your apartment, to watch the installers and to make sure it is cleaned up afterward. The point is that I think between you and the landlord you can come up with a compromise that addresses your health needs while addressing her rights as a landlord.
If you never leave your apartment and you have a room to be in seperate from where the work is being done, I would get earplugs plus noise cancellation headphones, would seal the room from the inside with plastic over the door and any windows and hang some blankets against the wall exposed or closest to the work. This will dampen sound. I would also ask the landlord if, like above, they can provide a bonded worker to monitor the work and to ensure it is cleaned afterwards. Also, I would meet the actual workers and explain the situation to them before going into your room. I think if they have seen you, heard you, unless they are outright assholes or bad people, they will try to minimize the disruption while doing their jobs.
It does not sound like you have a lot of good options. Your best hope is to minimize the disruption, not prevent it.
I would, assuming I had a cordial relationship with the neighbors, try to talk to them too. They may offer some solution or consider options other than busting up your wall.
posted by AugustWest at 5:39 PM on August 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
Why not cut a hole in her apartment?
Just wanted to add that this may still be noisy on your end as well, even if the workers are not actually in your apartment. I think you should talk to your landlord about your health problems and see if a) the number of visits by the cable company can be reduced (or eliminated) and b) if there's another quiet area in the building where you can stay while the workers are there. At my old place, there was a major reno to replace the air conditioning system that took a couple weeks, and since I work from home, I was offered another empty (furnished) unit in the building to work in during the day. It was not ideal, but much better than the alternative of trying to work while the HVAC people were in my place.
posted by bluefly at 5:45 PM on August 10, 2015
Just wanted to add that this may still be noisy on your end as well, even if the workers are not actually in your apartment. I think you should talk to your landlord about your health problems and see if a) the number of visits by the cable company can be reduced (or eliminated) and b) if there's another quiet area in the building where you can stay while the workers are there. At my old place, there was a major reno to replace the air conditioning system that took a couple weeks, and since I work from home, I was offered another empty (furnished) unit in the building to work in during the day. It was not ideal, but much better than the alternative of trying to work while the HVAC people were in my place.
posted by bluefly at 5:45 PM on August 10, 2015
You probably can't fight this, but if the dust from the construction is an issue i'd plan to be gone at a friends(or even a motel room), and then IMMEDIATELY go to hertz tool rental and rent a large commercial air filter. Make sure you get one that was actually cleaned off, and you might need to stop at home depot(or similar) and pick up actually clean filters.
Can you cover most of your living room in plastic sheeting(dollar tree carries "disposable tablecloths" that are HUGE and work great for this), and vacuum everything around it with a shop vac after while the air filter is running?
It might be worthwhile to also get a real particle mask. Not one of those little papery white ones, an honest cartridge filter WW2 gas mask looking unit and wear it during the entire cleanup.
My mother is INCREDIBLY dust sensitive, and this is all stuff we've done when we had to do dusty wall cutting sort of building maintenance, although we'd just buy a craigslist/bed bath and beyond air filter and a new cartridge and let it get destroyed.
I'd generally say you need to figure out how to mitigate the effects of this, and it's going to happen. Definitely at least prepare for that.
By the way, the total cost of renting and purchasing supplies for everything i described should add up to maybe... $100? I'd also communicate with the landlord and see if they have a shop vac(WITH A FILTER) or sheeting for painting, etc. Speaking from experience comcast's subcontractor will just smash everything up and leave a fairly big mess, at most just patching over the hole but leaving dust and debris all along the edge of the floor.
posted by emptythought at 6:03 PM on August 10, 2015
Can you cover most of your living room in plastic sheeting(dollar tree carries "disposable tablecloths" that are HUGE and work great for this), and vacuum everything around it with a shop vac after while the air filter is running?
It might be worthwhile to also get a real particle mask. Not one of those little papery white ones, an honest cartridge filter WW2 gas mask looking unit and wear it during the entire cleanup.
My mother is INCREDIBLY dust sensitive, and this is all stuff we've done when we had to do dusty wall cutting sort of building maintenance, although we'd just buy a craigslist/bed bath and beyond air filter and a new cartridge and let it get destroyed.
I'd generally say you need to figure out how to mitigate the effects of this, and it's going to happen. Definitely at least prepare for that.
By the way, the total cost of renting and purchasing supplies for everything i described should add up to maybe... $100? I'd also communicate with the landlord and see if they have a shop vac(WITH A FILTER) or sheeting for painting, etc. Speaking from experience comcast's subcontractor will just smash everything up and leave a fairly big mess, at most just patching over the hole but leaving dust and debris all along the edge of the floor.
posted by emptythought at 6:03 PM on August 10, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks everybody. The dust shouldn't be a special issue for me. I just talked to a friend who knows something about cable systems and he thinks that they probably can solve the problem by running a new cable directly to my neighbor's apartment without going into my wall. His advice was to politely put up some resistance to motivate them to do this instead.
I'm going to ask my doctor to call the apartment management and explain the situation. If it really is impossible for me to get out of this, there is a stairwell at the end of the hallway that is rarely used. It is far enough from my apartment that if I wait there and wear ear protection, I should be able to stand the noise. I do have foam ear plugs and noise cancellation headphones. It will be hard for me to walk that far, but it's less risky than being exposed to so much noise.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 7:17 PM on August 10, 2015
I'm going to ask my doctor to call the apartment management and explain the situation. If it really is impossible for me to get out of this, there is a stairwell at the end of the hallway that is rarely used. It is far enough from my apartment that if I wait there and wear ear protection, I should be able to stand the noise. I do have foam ear plugs and noise cancellation headphones. It will be hard for me to walk that far, but it's less risky than being exposed to so much noise.
posted by Cinnamon Bear at 7:17 PM on August 10, 2015
If you are unable to walk down the hall without significant difficulty, I assume you have some sort of in-home assistance to bring you groceries, etc.
Is this maybe a thing that whatever agency assists you with day-to-day living could assist you with? Is there any chance of getting a day in at a respite care home?
Your health issues and what you do to manage activities of everyday life are totally unclear in this post, which leads me to suspect that you are not going to have much luck explaining this to the landlord or neighbours. However, it might be received quite differently if the explanation came from the agency that deals with making sure you have food and other provisions, safe transport to and from medical appointments, et cetera.
posted by kmennie at 7:54 PM on August 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
Is this maybe a thing that whatever agency assists you with day-to-day living could assist you with? Is there any chance of getting a day in at a respite care home?
Your health issues and what you do to manage activities of everyday life are totally unclear in this post, which leads me to suspect that you are not going to have much luck explaining this to the landlord or neighbours. However, it might be received quite differently if the explanation came from the agency that deals with making sure you have food and other provisions, safe transport to and from medical appointments, et cetera.
posted by kmennie at 7:54 PM on August 10, 2015 [4 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
(And frankly, if you're hindering your neighbors ability to get reasonable utility connections, they should.)
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:30 PM on August 10, 2015 [4 favorites]