The matter at hand is a condo unit we own where the bathroom sits above the building boiler room. The conditions of the boiler room had deteriorated to a state that required replacing the boiler and shoring up the sagging ceiling. In March 2018, they opened up both my kitchen and bathroom walls to access building pipes leading into the boiler room. While they were working on the unit, my tenant at the time had to be displaced. The two rooms were eventually put back together after six weeks.
Then shortly after, I was notified that further work was needed which would require taking out my entire bathroom floor. Given the disruptive nature of the project, we were asked not to renew the lease and was led to believe that the condo association will pay for our lost income. The second phase of this project started on August 1st and the bathroom was haphazardly put back together by September 12th. As it is, we are left with a floor level that is raised above the old floor, resulting in an uneven half step going into the bathroom that will be a liability for any future tenant. In addition, the replaced floor tiles were left with grout all over some of them, the faucet is not connected correctly, and trash bags are still everywhere. We have requested the management company to fix the above and are awaiting any response.
Meanwhile, we have asked an independent contractor to survey the unit. To repair the half step, we will need to remove the existing hardwood floor, add an under layer in order to raise the rest of the apartment to level with the bathroom floor, then resurface the floor with new hardwood floor. The cost of this will be roughly $3500.
The management company owner now claimed that the trustees had instructed him not to reimburse us for the lost rental income because our insurance would cover lost income. However, our insurance agent categorically confirmed otherwise.
We wrote to the board requesting them to return the apartment to a habitable state, address the raised step to our satisfaction, clean up the grout and apartment thoroughly back to move-in state and reimburse us loss rent until the next tenant moves in. We are awaiting for the trustees' response.
We are beyond frustrated and angry and we appreciate any advice. We would also like your opinion if we have a case taking into consideration the benefits and cost of litigation.
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