Got shut down for asking about mold in my apartment lobby

So back in January, I noticed this black spot growing in the hallway of my building in Albany and asked the super about it during our walkthrough. He told me to keep my mouth shut because "management doesn't like tenants stirring things up." I got a formal warning the next day for violating the lease clause about "disruptive communication." Has anyone else run into landlords who just want you to pretend problems don't exist?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.jason1mo ago

Got copies of every email and my lease clause in writing and sent them to the Albany housing authority. They sent an inspector out within two weeks. Landlord got slapped with a citation and had to fix the mold and drop the warning. Best move I made was documenting everything and going over his head directly to the city. Don't let them bully you into silence, it only gets worse if you let it slide.

paul_thompson671mo ago

Man the super actually telling you to keep your mouth shut is wild. That's like admitting they know there's a problem but just don't want to deal with it. @torres.jason handling that paperwork and going straight to the city is exactly the move. Most people freeze up when authority figures threaten them like that. The fact they already had a lease clause ready to shut you up shows this isn't their first rodeo with this kind of stuff. Mold isn't something you just ignore in a shared building either, that stuff spreads fast and makes people sick. Glad Jason showed you the right path because landlords bank on tenants being scared to fight back.