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What can I do legally as a tenant in my apartment complex in this situation?
Background: A woman moved into our building about a month ago. The way my complex is set up, there is one long building with 4 “buildings” within it. It’s essentially one long building with 4 separate entrances, but you can get to and from each building without ever going outside simply by using the basement, which is just one long basement.
She is not actually in my entranced building, she is two entrances down, but still technically in my building. I had not met her, but one of the women that does live in her same entranced building told me last week that she is crazy and has been keeping them up at night. She said that she will bang all night out in the halls and sleeps all day but is up all night.
Saturday night during the storm, I was out walking my dogs to potty and another neighbor from that entrance that I am friendly with came out and said to the girl (the one who I had talked to days before) “I just called the cops, she assaulted me in the stairwell, the cops are on their way”.
I brought my dogs back inside and went over to their building to check on her. When I entered the building, the “crazy” lady stopped me and began telling me that she knows that I have been spying on her and taking pictures inside her apartment, and that she wants me to knock it off because she has alerted the Vermont police. She’s clearly not with it.`
I knocked on my neighbors door and stayed with her until police came. Here is what happened, which was told to the police:
The “crazy” woman tried to stop her from entering the building and was yelling at her. She finally was able to get by her after her arm was scratched up by the lady, and the woman tried to push her down the stairs (it’s a half flight of about 6 stairs).
The police spent over an hour trying to get the woman to open her door, I’m not sure if they were ever successful or not, I turned off the police scanner and went to bed.
The woman who was assaulted told me that this woman has been in the hallway yelling at them many times. That she’s up all hours of the night and bangs on their doors and windows asking for food and looks inside their windows from outside. She said that she has a case worker that comes to visit her daily, and when they complained to the case worker about her behavior, the case worker told them to just keep complaining.
It sounds to me like the woman is a paranoid schizophrenic, and that she clearly is not someone who should be living on her own. It also really worries me that she is living in our apartment complex, as now, she has become dangerous.
What can I do? I do plan to talk to the management person, but I feel that something REALLY needs to be done. I don’t think this is a safe situation at all but I’m not sure what my rights are legally, and what the best course of action is.
The tenants who have been bothered by this woman need to alert management immediately and follow up with written documentation as well as a police report. The management company needs reason to evict her, so let them have it. In the meantime, anybody bothered by her should call the police immediately and be sure to get a police report. Until she's removed steer clear of her.
Your neighbor needs to file a police report, take that report to the complex manager and let them know what's going on. I'm sure the police will also contact the manger, but if by chance they don't, your neighbor can fill them in.
What you need to do is stay on your side of the building and go on with your life. What your neighbor needs to do is to be on alert for the crazy lady and call the police when she's acting all bat **** crazy in the halls.
Your neighbor needs to file a police report, take that report to the complex manager and let them know what's going on. I'm sure the police will also contact the manger, but if by chance they don't, your neighbor can fill them in.
What you need to do is stay on your side of the building and go on with your life. What your neighbor needs to do is to be on alert for the crazy lady and call the police when she's acting all bat **** crazy in the halls.
I wasn't involved in the assault, but I was confronted by her in the hall just by going into their building.
Complain to the police, then to the property management.
Then mind your own damn business. You have no responsibility, nor authority to inject yourself in any struggles, or to pass judgement. I would have never gone over to see what the fuss is all about, nor confronted the lady. Only bad things can come out of that.
I wasn't involved in the assault, but I was confronted by her in the hall just by going into their building.
Then stay out of their building; unless you're visiting a resident there, you have no reason to be there.
I do understand why you went there the first time, but now that the police are involved, you can home and mind your own business and your neighbor and can continue to call the police and file complaints.
Complain to the police, then to the property management.
Then mind your own damn business. You have no responsibility, nor authority to inject yourself in any struggles, or to pass judgement. I would have never gone over to see what the fuss is all about, nor confronted the lady. Only bad things can come out of that.
Well...when I hear someone who I am 'friends" with in the building (we walk our dogs together often) say "she just assaulted me"....why wouldn't I go see if she's okay???
And I never confronted the woman...I walked inside the building and she was right there. Mailmen, UPS, and FedEx people are in and out also...should they not go in now because they might run into her as well?
I am not passing judgment on this lady. It is sad that she is clearly mentally ill and not in touch with reality. But it does not mean that she should be living in the apartment complex on her own and assaulting people that live there and causing disturbances many nights...
But it does not mean that she should be living in the apartment complex on her own and assaulting people that live there and causing disturbances many nights...
And as I said earlier - and which has been repeated by others, "The tenants who have been bothered by this woman need to alert management immediately and follow up with written documentation as well as a police report." Your concern for your friend is commendable but the actions have to be taken by her and by others who've had problems with this tenant. This woman didn't assault you. It's not your battle to fight so stay out of her way and let the injured parties take it up properly.
OP - perhaps you've interpreted responses here as attacks on your actions. But I think what everyone has been trying to say is that you should avoid the area now for your safety, since the police have been involved. No reason to put yourself in danger now that the police have been involved.
Talk to the other residents who were assaulted/involved with the cops with the crazy lady, to make sure they've contacted the management about the crazy lady. That way the management will have documentation and therefore have legal grounds to have her removed. If the management doesn't know what's going on, they can't do anything to rectify the situation.
Hope your friend is ok and can manage to avoid the crazy lady while this issue gets sorted out.
You have the right to the quiet enjoyment of your apartment, your landlord has obligations to provide you with that, but your rights are far more limited in regard to the public, shared communal areas of the complex. There your primary recourse is to police protection.
You need to try and recognize that the "crazy lady" could be you some day. Someone with a mental disability. No you should not have to risk your physical well being while living near her, but you need to recognize her right to life and try to accommodate her disability.
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