Asbestos/landlord question. PLZ READ, I NEED HELP?
Posted on August 17th, 2009 by admin
Asbestos
I live in a high rise apartment building that has just been sold to a new owner. They are turning all the units into condos. The new mgmt company is a complete pain in the a@%! They have constuction crews onsite 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. But, that is not the real problem. About a year ago I inquired about having my tile in my kitchen replaced b/c it was cracking. The old mgmt company said they would have someone look at it. They mentioned something about asbestos. They never came by and I forgot to ask about it again. But now they are gutting all the units in the building as they become empty. Recently I stepped outside my apt and was overcome when I reached the hallway. The smoke and dust in the air was AWFUL! It was coming from an apartment at the other end of the hallway at least 100 feet away. I noticed all the construction workers had very large masks covering their mouths and noses. It was at this point I remembered my conversation with the old mgmt company when they mentioned asbestos. This got me a bit worried. Then the dust started making its way into my apt.When I asked the new mgmt company about this, they did nothing. I am wondering if this could be asbestos. If it is, what rights do I have as a tenant to be protected from this. I live in Chicago. This building is at least 40 years old. And it is 23 stories high. One more quick question. They just put a note under everyones door that we are not allowed to have doormats outside our doors b/c it is a violation of the chicago fire department building code. Is this true?
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I live in a high rise apartment building that has just been sold to a new owner. They are turning all the units into condos. The new mgmt company is a complete pain in the a@%! They have constuction crews onsite 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. But, that is not the real problem. About a year ago I inquired about having my tile in my kitchen replaced b/c it was cracking. The old mgmt company said they would have someone look at it. They mentioned something about asbestos. They never came by and I forgot to ask about it again. But now they are gutting all the units in the building as they become empty. Recently I stepped outside my apt and was overcome when I reached the hallway. The smoke and dust in the air was AWFUL! It was coming from an apartment at the other end of the hallway at least 100 feet away. I noticed all the construction workers had very large masks covering their mouths and noses. It was at this point I remembered my conversation with the old mgmt company when they mentioned asbestos. This got me a bit worried. Then the dust started making its way into my apt.When I asked the new mgmt company about this, they did nothing. I am wondering if this could be asbestos. If it is, what rights do I have as a tenant to be protected from this. I live in Chicago. This building is at least 40 years old. And it is 23 stories high. One more quick question. They just put a note under everyones door that we are not allowed to have doormats outside our doors b/c it is a violation of the chicago fire department building code. Is this true?
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Filed under: Renting & Real Estate
Best to contact you local health department and the fire marshal.
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I stripped asbestos for 12 years. The tile has only 1 to 3% asbestos content. It’s not going to hurt you so don’t worry as long as they water it down when they remove it. The asbestos you do have to worry about is the stuff on pipes, ceilings or boilers. Some have a very high content there. What will cause you more problems is the drywall dust and the other dust that is created if they are demolishing the walls. It won’t hurt you but it may irritate your lungs or if you have asthma it’s really bad. If it’s 40 years old it would be safe to assume that there’s more asbestos around than just the tile. Is it a county or state owned high rise or is it privately owned? I know a guy i sell windows to in Chicago that works for the HUD Authority there. If you have any more questions feel free to ask me. Oh, if they are stripping asbestos you will see plastic sheeting walls put up and danger signs placed on them. Don’t worry though because they do take precautions and the air is monitored by the EPA. Like i said just ask if you have any more questions. One more thing. You can’t see asbestos. It’s a microscopic fiber.
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There are so many regulations in place that they wouldn’t just be removing aesbestos willy-nilly. It’s a liablity for them, they need to hire special contractors to do it.
The dust from the construction is probably stirring up 40 years of dust, mold and god knows what else. It is inconvenient and irritating but I don’t think it’s the health issue aesbestos is. the doormat this is probably legitimate. I used to manage a large apt. building and inspectors can site all kinds of things and a door mat might be considered an obstruction. Think about it, it might trip someone trying to escape a smoke filled hallway or impede the fire department. Sounds like it might be a good time to move!