Should I Bother Solving Security Snafu?
November 6, 2022 7:28 PM Subscribe
My apartment's security situation is not the greatest. Should I even bother trying to fix these issues and if so, how so? Trauma, drama, and the mysteries of WiFi routing under the cut.
Packages are constantly being stolen from the common areas and I recently forgot to lock my apartment door (I know, my bad) and a guy just wandered into my apartment in the middle of the night. Fortunately he was just fucked up, not looking to steal, so it didn't end as badly as it could have but I'm really shaken up. I know that shit happens, but there aren't any cameras in the building (there is literally a sticker that says there is a camera instead of a camera) and there are busted keypads, fire doors that don't lock properly, and broken front doors. After I told management what happened, they told me that they might not be able to install cameras because there's no WiFi in the building and that they'll speak to the contractor again about getting new doors, fixing the broken ones, and so on. (Maintenance is slow for normal things, so I don't trust them.) They also told me that crime was going up because of police cuts which, wow, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that? Move is the obvious answer but I don't want to break a lease and I'd feel like shit subletting to someone under current conditions ESPECIALLY if they were living alone. I know that cameras aren't really a deterrent but I feel like they're not even trying here--couldn't they work off a hot spot or install a router? There have also been huge price hikes in the building so I KNOW these motherfuckers can afford a Ring.
I'm spoiled by having had a good friend as a private landlord* before I moved into this building and need to know if 1. I should even bother trying to get these issues fixed 2. if there's a best way to go about this if there is. Round up the other tenants? Lawyer up? Keep calling and emailing management? Part of me wants to road trip to California to find the corporation that owns the place and [redacted] but in real life I am not Pee Wee Herman and I don't have the time. I just feel like I should do SOMETHING to improve the situation but maybe I've just gotten soft from the previous set up and am being too much of a Karenic bitch about security/too idealistic about any possible improvements? Has anyone been in a similar situation and come out of it feeling that they made a positive difference?
* A good friend who was an electrical engineer who loved doing HVAC repair in their spare time. I hate my life and my choices right now...
Packages are constantly being stolen from the common areas and I recently forgot to lock my apartment door (I know, my bad) and a guy just wandered into my apartment in the middle of the night. Fortunately he was just fucked up, not looking to steal, so it didn't end as badly as it could have but I'm really shaken up. I know that shit happens, but there aren't any cameras in the building (there is literally a sticker that says there is a camera instead of a camera) and there are busted keypads, fire doors that don't lock properly, and broken front doors. After I told management what happened, they told me that they might not be able to install cameras because there's no WiFi in the building and that they'll speak to the contractor again about getting new doors, fixing the broken ones, and so on. (Maintenance is slow for normal things, so I don't trust them.) They also told me that crime was going up because of police cuts which, wow, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that? Move is the obvious answer but I don't want to break a lease and I'd feel like shit subletting to someone under current conditions ESPECIALLY if they were living alone. I know that cameras aren't really a deterrent but I feel like they're not even trying here--couldn't they work off a hot spot or install a router? There have also been huge price hikes in the building so I KNOW these motherfuckers can afford a Ring.
I'm spoiled by having had a good friend as a private landlord* before I moved into this building and need to know if 1. I should even bother trying to get these issues fixed 2. if there's a best way to go about this if there is. Round up the other tenants? Lawyer up? Keep calling and emailing management? Part of me wants to road trip to California to find the corporation that owns the place and [redacted] but in real life I am not Pee Wee Herman and I don't have the time. I just feel like I should do SOMETHING to improve the situation but maybe I've just gotten soft from the previous set up and am being too much of a Karenic bitch about security/too idealistic about any possible improvements? Has anyone been in a similar situation and come out of it feeling that they made a positive difference?
* A good friend who was an electrical engineer who loved doing HVAC repair in their spare time. I hate my life and my choices right now...
Your door latch should lock automatically and if it doesn’t you should be able to push a button on the side of the door to switch it.
If the building management can’t be bothered to invest in basic security measures, I’d move if at all possible.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
If the building management can’t be bothered to invest in basic security measures, I’d move if at all possible.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:02 PM on November 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Since when is it being a "Karen" to expect your building not be broken? Doors and windows are supposed to work properly, not only for your safety but to preserve the building envelope so the building remains in good shape. Your landlord is sounding pretty slumlord-ish by saying crime is up. Well if it is indeed "up" they really need to buckle down and fix the broken doors and keypads.
In my city, you can call code enforcement and they will come out to inspect a property and tell the landlord they have to fix things. Figure out your local tenants' help organization and talk to them.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
In my city, you can call code enforcement and they will come out to inspect a property and tell the landlord they have to fix things. Figure out your local tenants' help organization and talk to them.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:31 PM on November 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
I have no idea how fire doors are supposed to work, but that sounds like something a call to your local fire department's non-emergency number might shed some light on. And might trigger them into doing an inspection.
posted by sardonyx at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by sardonyx at 8:37 PM on November 6, 2022 [6 favorites]
You are not being "too much" anything by wanting your apartment building to be secure. Cameras are not just to identify people who come in when they don't live there. They are also useful to identify tenants who may break the door intentionally, for example. I would absolutely talk to your neighbors and work a plan together to demand things get fixed. Asking for a fire inspection is a great idea. Ask your local tenant's union for advice, and maybe your city councilperson.
posted by soelo at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 8:47 PM on November 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
People keep ignoring the socioeconomic/punching down part of the "Karen" concept and using it as a cudgel to stop women from raising complaints about anything. Telling the landlord, who controls your safety and your rent and has a lot more power than you in this situation, that you need better locks is completely reasonable.
Does your building have any tenants' group (over WhatsApp, email, whatever)? Or do any of you know each other? If more than one of you complains it might help things move a bit faster.
posted by trig at 1:13 AM on November 7, 2022 [8 favorites]
Does your building have any tenants' group (over WhatsApp, email, whatever)? Or do any of you know each other? If more than one of you complains it might help things move a bit faster.
posted by trig at 1:13 AM on November 7, 2022 [8 favorites]
Yep, likely your landlord is legally required to maintain the door locks in a better condition than they are doing (though not to install a camera). The most effective way to get this to actually happen, however, is to talk to your neighbors and form a tenants union for the building. If you’re comfortable sharing location details, we could likely help you find more info about both legal requirements and any tenants groups in your area who could help you with either enforcement or forming your own building tenants union.
posted by eviemath at 3:18 AM on November 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eviemath at 3:18 AM on November 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
there's no WiFi in the building
Many many other more urgent problems aside, just a quick note on this. Back when I was renting in a small building, my landlord tapped in to my internet to run his cameras. This was with my knowledge and express consent, and I made him pay for the use with a rent reduction.
Which is to say there's a solution to every problem if your landlord actually gives a shit and is willing to invest in solving it.
posted by phunniemee at 5:26 AM on November 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Many many other more urgent problems aside, just a quick note on this. Back when I was renting in a small building, my landlord tapped in to my internet to run his cameras. This was with my knowledge and express consent, and I made him pay for the use with a rent reduction.
Which is to say there's a solution to every problem if your landlord actually gives a shit and is willing to invest in solving it.
posted by phunniemee at 5:26 AM on November 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am not a lawyer and this advice is highly dependent on jurisdiction, so you will want to seek out a tenants' help and/or legal aid organization before you do any of this, but:
1) Building security is typically part of the warranty of habitability in an apartment building. The landlord has no legal right to leave these issues unfixed.
2) Depending on how tenant-friendly your jurisdiction is, you may be able to withhold your rent until these issues are fixed. In my jurisdiction what happens is you save the rent you would otherwise have paid, get sued for eviction by the landlord, then bring in evidence of code violations at your hearing, at which point the judge will award you part of the rent back and supervise further rent payments through an escrow process so your landlord has to make repairs before receiving any more rent.
3) Withholding your rent is far more effective when done collectively through organizing your building. These handouts provide useful information for organizing--tenant organizing is a little different from a workplace context but the essence is the same.
4) Far from being a Karen, you are almost certainly articulating concerns that other people in the building share but may not be in a position to air publicly. The way to find out is to knock on doors and ask your neighbors what they think.
posted by derrinyet at 6:09 AM on November 7, 2022
1) Building security is typically part of the warranty of habitability in an apartment building. The landlord has no legal right to leave these issues unfixed.
2) Depending on how tenant-friendly your jurisdiction is, you may be able to withhold your rent until these issues are fixed. In my jurisdiction what happens is you save the rent you would otherwise have paid, get sued for eviction by the landlord, then bring in evidence of code violations at your hearing, at which point the judge will award you part of the rent back and supervise further rent payments through an escrow process so your landlord has to make repairs before receiving any more rent.
3) Withholding your rent is far more effective when done collectively through organizing your building. These handouts provide useful information for organizing--tenant organizing is a little different from a workplace context but the essence is the same.
4) Far from being a Karen, you are almost certainly articulating concerns that other people in the building share but may not be in a position to air publicly. The way to find out is to knock on doors and ask your neighbors what they think.
posted by derrinyet at 6:09 AM on November 7, 2022
"Being a Karen" is when a wealthy or financially comfortable person hassles a person with less money and less power about something trivial - too much foam on their latte, not enough parsley on their omelette. (It's also usually a white woman hassling a person of colour.)
If the doors in your building don't work properly or don't lock properly -
a woman could get sexually assaulted
a child could get sexually assaulted or kidnapped
someone could die in a fire (if they can't get out fast enough).
None of these are trivial.
Imagine that one of the women in your building, or one of the children in your building gets hurt because a door to the outside world wouldn't lock; or that someone gets badly injured or killed in a fire because the fire doors didn't work properly. You'd regret not doing everything you could to prevent this by speaking up, right?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:39 AM on November 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
If the doors in your building don't work properly or don't lock properly -
a woman could get sexually assaulted
a child could get sexually assaulted or kidnapped
someone could die in a fire (if they can't get out fast enough).
None of these are trivial.
Imagine that one of the women in your building, or one of the children in your building gets hurt because a door to the outside world wouldn't lock; or that someone gets badly injured or killed in a fire because the fire doors didn't work properly. You'd regret not doing everything you could to prevent this by speaking up, right?
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:39 AM on November 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
In a situation like this, I think it's important to be a persistent pain in their ass about getting the locks fixed. You deserve a safe hospitable place to live (especially in light of rent increases). Send them a letter in writing; email; call; etc., on a regular basis.
Don't accept their b.s. excuse about police cuts being the cause of your building being unsafe.
Oh, and please stop beating yourself up about choices you made. You did the best you could with the information you had at the time.
posted by hydra77 at 8:58 AM on November 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
Don't accept their b.s. excuse about police cuts being the cause of your building being unsafe.
Oh, and please stop beating yourself up about choices you made. You did the best you could with the information you had at the time.
posted by hydra77 at 8:58 AM on November 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Broken doors/locks are worth fighting for. Anything that is basically wide open and available, is just an invitation. That is a no-brainer.
If you are just solving for your own security, not the entire building's, it would be more useful to make sure your door is always locked + good dead bolt if needed, and perhaps send all parcels to a pick-up point rather than having them sit in your lobby, waiting to be stolen.
I believe some keypad locks have a feature that auto-locks it within a few minutes or so.
posted by tinydancer at 7:55 PM on November 6, 2022 [4 favorites]