Asklemmy@lemmy.mlbyAntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml
1 day

Update: My landlord served me a 3 day notice to cure violation or move out over keeping my window open. It's not on my lease. It's not a violation.

English

my previous post from yesterday https://lemmy.ml/post/49529603

The good news I guess is that the timer starts on monday because the 3rd is the jurisdictional court’s (might as well say Riverside County, CA) holiday for the 4th. And after my last post I went and bought a security camera, so worst case I can document my window being closed if I want to be a stupid coward that lets bullies play Calvinball with signed contracts against me. With my fucking life.

And it’s just really important to me that the window stay open in my room. It’s a whole list of deal breakers.

  • I don’t want to get fucking covid from the 8 other units filled with people here because I’m the last weirdo that goes to work and the store with a mask on. When I keep the window closed because of paranoia over this conflict, I feel like I need to mask in my own bedroom. And that’s fucked.

  • This luxurious closet sized bedroom is too small for a full sized person and two large cats to live on top of each other. They need to be able to lay out on the patio and enjoy life. And they need to be able to run back inside if something scares them, like the many coyote that have wilderness right fucking next door and I have seen in our back yard with my cats running from them. Can’t do ‘open it when they want back in’ no how, no way. (There’s also a giant drama about gates that enclose a section of the yard that apparently me closing them at night drives them into a steaming rage but keeps my guys safe)

  • There’s 80 pounds of goddamned cat litter right next to the window and 8 feet from where I sit at the computer and sleep. I need the ventilation.

  • I LIKE THE FRESH AIR.

  • The A/C is too fucking cold anyway

In addition to buying the security camera (fuck I need an sd card of course it’s separate) I also started looking for a new place to be miserable with a live-in landlord for too goddamned much money. But this shit is on a timeline WAY faster than that. Fuck.

So I don’t want to be cowed by this. But I also don’t want to get my life all fucked up by it. I don’t want this demon to steal a whole month’s rent (waited until the day after I paid this month’s rent the fucking parasite) AND a 600 dollar penalty if I lose. Not to mention paying 4x what I can afford for an extended stay room…

I’m completely in the right but on the other hand do you think the judge rents, or do you think it’s more likely they have some rental properties of their own and all their sentiments are with the law breaker psycho landlord?

Anyway this is my panic attack post

edit: I am purposefully not engaging with any comments on the subject of whether or not my landlord has a genuine gripe about me having my window open and my door closed in a room that does not have a temperature sensor for the A/C system. I offered to close the vent. I offered to have my rent raised to compensate. All was ignored. It’s about power tripping. So this post is about my rights in the face of that.

137
    • mynameisbob@lemmy.mlEnglish
      9 hours
      1. Be a nail get hammered. Comply let the smoke settle and observe… hopefully they chase a squirrel. Find someone else to bother. Don’t make enemies and make nice then.
      2. Remote Control Outlet Wireless Light Switch for Household Appliances, 200ft Long Range Remote Outlet Switch, 15A/1875W High Power Mini Electrical Plug, White (1 Outlet + 1 Remote)
      3. Portable ac Window Vent Kit with Universal Coupler, New Adjustable Air Conditioner Window Seal Kit for Sliding Vertical/Horizontal Window(Include 6 Inline Inch Duct Fan)
      4. https://thingino.com/
      5. https://hub.docker.com/r/mekayelanik/ispyagentdvr
      6. Get a leash and a little vest for kitty enrichment time.
      7. Manage perception wage war.

      If the door is shut and there is no censor I see no problem. These comment jesus christ mary and joseph… chilll or not to chill that is the question. This is a very long thread. Is this some high level gipity?. Some kind of social experiment? Or is it the drama. When it comes to people or their problems I am gentle but my heart wants to eat a billionare.

      • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2 hours

        If the door is shut and there is no censor I see no problem.

        Yeah that’s the situation. And it’s part of why I didn’t want to engage with the A/C discussion that turned into 80% of this thread. I don’t know if some sinister Russian agent is using subliminal pixels to make everyone angry in here of it’s a Banksy art piece. I think it’s just more likely people argue on the internet a lot.

      • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3 hours

        I will be honest. some of OPs’ claims are hard to believe and weird.

        but the first 3 accounts I have seen in the comments writing bullshit, also being against OP, have already got more downvotes by me than upvotes according to my client, even though I use downvotes very sparingly. that’s telling something.

        yes, it’s likely someone is pouring time or money into making people hate each other in this place.

        • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
          2 hours

          I will be honest. some of OPs’ claims are hard to believe and weird.

          Landlord is a psycho. AMA.

          • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            51 minutes

            part of the weird is the shared AC system should be pumping fresh air. I mean it sounds like cold air is coming in a tube to all rooms from a central place.

            against cold air the solution is to put up some shirts. why aren’t you doing that?

            why do you believe the AC system is spreading covid? is covid an active threat right now in your area?

            I don’t have solution to the cats, maybe cat doors. but what will you do when winter comes and it will be cold outside?

            • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
              41 minutes

              Oh I’m not staying here until the winter.

              And what the fuck is too difficult for you to understand about “I prefer the window open so that’s how I have it”? Why are you trying to solve a problem that I have said is not a problem for me?

    • DJ Putler@lemmy.mlbot account
      13 hours

      “Is It Leftist To Open Your Window” – the greatest thread in Bodybuilding Forums history, locked after 300 pages of debate

    • agentant (He/Him)@lemmy.ml
      1 day

      The amount of people in this thread siding with the leeches who contribute nothing to society and will gleefully sentence people to death by lack of shelter is astounding.

      • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
        22 hours

        It’s amazing how people’s empathy evaporates when you show them you’re a selfish piece of shit unworthy of empathy.

        • Michael@slrpnk.net
          22 hours

          What is even more amazing is how OP never demonstrated that.

          Somebody said something abusive to them and they reacted better than most, guess they deserve to go homeless in a heat wave. Oh well, we tried. /s

        • marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today
          22 hours

          OP has more empathy than their landleech, as their landleech is a subhuman psychopath who has given up all of their façade of humanity. If you think otherwise then you’d be the first to die in a horror movie, you’d be the person that hides their zombie bite, and you’d the one to help an alien invasion annihilate humanity in hopes they’d spare you.

          • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
            22 hours

            You seem to have trouble discerning real life from fiction… Op is the type to be so anti social they end up homeless. Good luck in the zombie apocalypse with them and their endless griping.

            • marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today
              22 hours

              I’ve giving examples of a character archetype because it’s useful for quickly categorizing behavior. You’re defending a landlord who is threatening to make someone homeless over fresh air.

              • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
                22 hours

                Fuck the landlord. Landlording is disgusting. Op just happens to be more fucking annoying and anti social than a landlord.

                • marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today
                  22 hours

                  Wanting a window open and defending themselves against people defending a landlord does not make a person antisocial. Even if they were antisocial defending the person threatening to essentially statistically kill them by attacking OP isn’t the right move, ever.

                  • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
                    22 hours

                    You’re right, their anti social behaviour makes them anti social. Good point!

    • TiredTiger@lemmy.ml
      21 hours

      It’s probably going to come down to the lease terms. There’s likely a mechanism to file some kind of complaint about this that would make the 3-days stop ticking, but I’m not a lawyer. If you can find a legal aid clinic, that’s probably your best bet. Power-tripping landlords are the worst and I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this.

    • GoatSynagogue@lemmy.world
      10 hours

      It’s 2026 and there are still people scared out of their mind of catching Covid? 🤣

      I bet OP has had Covid multiple times already without even realising it. That’s how much of a nothing it is.

      • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2 hours

        PMC19.com

        A quarter of a million people are getting long covid every week. You have fun with your kidney failure. I’m good still wearing a mask in the grocery store.

    • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1 day

      Don’t have advice but came here to say fuck your landlord and I hope things work out for you ❤️

    • Michael@slrpnk.net
      1 day

      ITT people dog-piling somebody in a shitty situation, in a shitty society, who can’t find adequate and affordable housing and arguing in defense of a landlord who won’t give them a clear copy of their renter’s agreement (and is charging for a printed copy) and who has forcibly closed OP’s window from the outside.

      See OP’s edit:

      edit: I am purposefully not engaging with any comments on the subject of whether or not my landlord has a genuine gripe about me having my window open and my door closed in a room that does not have a temperature sensor for the A/C system. I offered to close the vent. I offered to have my rent raised to compensate. All was ignored. It’s about power tripping. So this post is about my rights in the face of that.

      Keep your window closed when it’s high temp, high humidity OP (consider the cat door for the window) and ignore these trolls who are trying to provoke you and make you feel bad. You did everything right, you even offered to have your rent increased.

      • Karu 🐲@lemmy.ml
        1 day

        Yeah what the fuck is all this siding with the landlord about? I thought we were leftists lmao. If I were OP I would stay out of Lemmy for a bit, the replies in this thread are probably just making the panic attack worse.

        I don’t care about the nitty gritty details of the issue with the AC or the door or whatever, I don’t know why everyone is paying so much thought to that. The major problem is that the landlord is abusing an authority that is barely even legitimate to begin with, and is threatening OP with eviction if they don’t obey; the specific circumstances in which such abuse has materialized is irrelevant. They are especially irrelevant if you are going to play lawyer with them to uphold the landlord’s authority.

        I think that we as a community should avoid this kind of behavior.

        Sending you strength, OP

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
          1 day

          People arent siding with the landlord, they’re siding with not leaving windows open with the A/C running as that is just wasting tons of energy over OP’s neroticism.

          • Michael@slrpnk.net
            1 day

            People arent siding with the landlord

            People definitely are at times, and at other times are just actively against OP for not taking abuse quietly when they are seeking support.

            Let me break it down with direct quotes:

            “[…] I had some sympathy for you up to this point. You’re just a self centered asshole that doesn’t care about other people. Your landlord sounds like an asshole too, but now I’m kind of on their side. I wouldn’t want to deal with your bullshit either.”

            Defending the landlord, who they view as an asshole, and simultaneously insulting the character of OP.

            “It’s pretty naive to assume that the landlord hasn’t documented the last several times they were forced to close your window. If I were you, I’d start looking for a place with an outdoor patio. At this point your landlord wants you gone and would probably be happy to let you out of the lease with all of the trouble you’re causing.”

            Defending the landlord forcibly closing the window and accusing OP of causing trouble.

            "Today’s forecast for Riverside, CA is high of 90F and 80% humidity. I’d want this asshole kicked to the curb if I was another renter in the house dealing with someone repeatedly opening the windows and defeating the AC.

            Feels like a Reddit AITA creative writing exercise for rage bait. I don’t miss it."

            Person lying about the weather and saying they want OP kicked to the curb for wanting to have their window open in their closet-sized room for fresh air, for their cats to live a dignified life despite OP’s limitations in being able to find adequate room for them to live indoors, to avoid the effects of shared ventilation and lack of temperature controls (including concerns about COVID).

            It’s hot out, really hot out, and you are sharing an ac. Two issues here. Humidity destroys houses and it is not good if the AC is pumping full time."

            Person overblowing humidity concerns/damage in Riverside, California (which is a relatively dry climate compared to some areas).

            “I was on the fence until I saw this outburst. Now I’m pretty sure you’re a shitty tenant who’s about to get evicted. You and the landlord both are probably imperfect, and I’m not really gonna bother with too many details since I think you posted more for validation than for advice, but I think your landlord has a slam dunk case if he finds your account here with posts and comments. It could be too late, but your best bet is to delete your account, lawyer up, and stfu online about this before it builds their case against you. The judge doesn’t give a shit about you, he cares about the property owner’s property and possibly whether you’re a disruption to other tenants.”

            They are referencing when OP responded to a commenter who said “Do you often feel like everyone is against you no matter where you go?”, to which they replied and called them out on having a “snide chud attitude”. Which isn’t my choice of words, but it’s not a slur or a form of bigotry IMO to say that somebody has a bad attitude in a strong way, so who cares. Sometimes people have emotional outbursts to abusive comments or remarks, OP was responding to abuse.

            “No one cares anymore because your attitude is complete shit. Go complain somewhere else”

            “The good news is, we seem to have found the problem. Tge bad news is, you won’t like it.”

            More abuse.

            OP didn’t react the best, which is understandable, they are in a tough situation and facing housing insecurity. I can’t imagine what that feels like in California.

            • matthurtme@lemmy.world
              8 hours

              Last time I was homeless was California for three years. I had to get into an abusive relationship to get off the street. I’m currently scared shirtless that I’m going to be homeless soon again. At the rate that homelessness is increasing, half the country will likely end up homeless in ten years

            • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
              22 hours

              Well they won’t freeze to death. Maybe if they weren’t a giant asshole people would like them.

              • Michael@slrpnk.net
                22 hours

                They will just die of heat stroke in an unforgiving hellscape, while data centers that produce/facilitate slop/mass surveillance accelerate climate change and fresh water depletion. No big deal, right?

                So let me get this straight:

                If you’re rich, you’re privileged to destroy the planet and to live however you please.

                If you’re poor, you don’t deserve pets and you deserve to die of exposure, without a fair opportunity for shelter, because you said somebody’s attitude had the characteristics of being snide and chud-like when they were abusing you and because you were perceivably a bad tenant from the perspective of online trolls.

                Thanks for bullying this vulnerable user and exposing your ideology.

                • Nonconfrontational@lemmy.mlBanned from community
                  22 hours

                  Cry me a fucking river. You get what you give in terms of positivity on the internet. I’m just redirecting their negativity back at them.

                  • Michael@slrpnk.net
                    22 hours

                    You get off on that, you aren’t guiding them to a better path. You want to traumatize OP. Not happening on my watch. Try again while I’m off-duty.

                    Maybe more people will pick up the torch to support the hell out of the OP’s you choose to abuse. It must be self-defeating to imagine that you might be motivating people (who have more empathy than you) helping the people you work hard to psychologically torture.

          • Karu 🐲@lemmy.ml
            1 day

            OP’s landlord is threatening with eviction. Are you aware how fucking serious that is? In the current climate, this alone can single-handedly ruin someone’s life and future. Eviction shouldn’t even be on the table, and it wouldn’t be, if it wasn’t because of scalpers hoarding the entire housing market, and then holding working class people hostage if they don’t play by the landlord’s petty rules (which includes paying a fuckton of money monthly!)

            The instant that the landlord threatened with eviction, they positioned themselves solidly in the wrong. For such a disproportionate threat to be justified, there should be reasonable suspicion that the tenant is going to commit homicide or plant a bomb or something over that level. Anything below that is an abuse of power, and said power is only as legitimate as scalping the market is.

            I literally couldn’t care less about AC or the window, and you are either being dishonest or acting like a shitty human being if you unironlically claim that the way OP uses AC warrants a threat of eviction. Even if OP were 100% in the wrong regarding AC (which is, in turn, not something I agree with, but I’m not getting into that), there is a whole world of difference in scale. By equating these two levels of magnitude, you are definitively siding with the landlord, even if you don’t explicitly claim to do so (and you are, thus, also positioning yourself solidly in the wrong).

            Also, y’all should be ashamed to call OP ‘insufferable’ for replying in a slightly mean tone after continuously being told that akshually maybe the landlord is right, and that they’re oh such a troublesome tennant, after being threatened with fucking eviction.

            • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
              21 hours

              Wow what a moral crusader you are.

              Since half your rant is discussing housing, high costs, and the plight of the working class, I’m quite shocked that you have no issue with OP causing every other tenant in this shared house to not only not have cool air in their home, but also force them to pay sky high energy costs to blow a bunch of cooled air outside for no reason at all.

              I absolutely guarantee that if OP had come here and said “my housemate refuses to close their window throughout the day which keeps the air conditioner from working and leaves us with a huge energy bill every month” you’d be right here spouting the similar outrage but directed at the person selfishly leaving the window open. I don’t take a single thing you said seriously because it’s so absurd and over the top.

              OP has absolutely zero justification for what they’re doing. Keeping the window open isn’t going to keep them from getting COVID, they claim it’s “too cold” yet also claim they “can just close the vent,” and they claim they have 80lbs of stinky cat litter sitting on the floor which is their own damn fault. What this sounds like to me is untreated mental illness which is causing everyone else in their house problems. If they don’t want to get evicted then maybe they should focus on that and stop forcing their problems on everyone else.

    • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net
      English
      15 hours

      Regarding feeling like you’ll get covid from the AC circulating air: Covid appears to mostly spread in the air by the virus attaching to dust or particles in the air. All of the air in the house will be pulled to a single intake vent, where there should be an HVAC filter to filter all of the air (the AC heat exchanger would eventually get clogged with dust without one). If that filter has a high enough MERV rating (how strong the filter is) it will be capable of removing all of the particles the virus can attach to, MERV 13 can even remove the virus itself from the air. This would mean that the air coming into your bedroom would be filtered and safe.

      If you cannot confirm what MERV rating your HVAC filter is, then you could instead attach a MERV-13 filter to the back of a normal box fan (I recommend a 4" thick filter for longevity and reduced strain on the motor, as the thicker filter has a less restrictive airflow compared to a 1" filter) and run it in your bedroom to purify the air.

      Regarding it being too cold in your room, AC vents can usually be adjusted to limit the flow into your room, or you could ask your roommates if they would be willing to compromise on a slightly lower overall temp, or if that fails, putting on some warmer clothing that’s easy to take off if you need to go outside may be a good compromise.

      I understand that neither of those things solve the issue of your cats or the smell of their litter, though. (A carbon anti-smell HVAC filter on the back of a box fan may help?)

      • Jentu@lemmy.mlEnglish
        18 hours

        Just to piggyback off this comment a bit (since I’m not sure I’ve ever rented anywhere with MERV 13+ filters). Try making a Corsi–Rosenthal Box with a box fan and 4 air filters. This might be beyond your price range since MERV13 filters aren’t the cheapest in the world when you have to buy 4 of them, but I’ve been using mine for years and they work REALLY well. My PM2.5 sensor is consistently on “0” unless I’m cooking.

        • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net
          English
          14 hours

          While Corsi boxes do work, I personally find that just using a single thicker 4" filter taped to the back of a fan works better, as it takes up a smaller footprint and allows you to direct the air flow at something other than the ceiling. The thicker filter is much, much less restrictive than a 1" filter due to the increased surface area. The thick ones (20x20x4") cost about $28 on ebay, and will last a very long time before needing to be replaced.

    • GatesMcBalmer@lemmy.world
      1 day

      This is not legal advice but in California, the landlord of a rooming house (which it sounds like you are in) has the right to make reasonable house rules and “keep the windows closed when the AC is on” is generally recognized as reasonable rule. Its unlikely a court would side with you on this.

      Keeping the window open in a room (even with the door shut) impacts the temperature and humidity of the rest of the house. Rooms within a house are not air tight when the door is closed. In fact, the airflow in a house is designed to circulate and mix all the air from all the rooms so that the AC runs efficiently, even when the doors are closed.

        • GatesMcBalmer@lemmy.world
          9 hours

          It doesn’t matter. Unless they are keeping the apartment at an unreasonably high or low temp, then California typically recognizes a landlord’s right to require you to keep the windows closed when the AC is running.

          • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
            2 hours

            So you believe that California law states you’re not allowed to ever open a window in a room you are renting if the landlord remotely sets the A/C to be at a constant temperature 24/7.

            Sounds like you’re reading off the wall in your mind palace. Is that accurate?

      • pineapple@lemmy.mlEnglish
        19 hours

        100%. All cats eat birds and are a danger to wildlife. They should never be let outside to roam freely.

        I hate it when people say shit like “tibbles wouldnt hurt a fly” all cats have natural (very effective) hunting instincts, unless they have some disability, it will probably kill if let outside.

        In australia feral cats are causing native animals to go extinct.

        • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
          17 hours

          Eh, my cat has the disability of a bell around his neck. He’s killed quite a few invasive lizards, but I can say with confidence he’s never killed a bird (he’s very proud of the aforementioned lizard kills, and would absolutely be showing off any birds he managed to catch). I’ve watched him fail hilariously at pouncing on a butterfly.

          Bells are perfectly fine. I’d feel much worse cooping him up in a house all day every day.

          • pineapple@lemmy.mlEnglish
            14 hours

            I’ve never heard or thought about bells it sounds like they would be pretty effective.

            After some research, which is hard to do with most websites trying to tell you there shitty product will stop hunting better than everyone else’s. It looks like there aren’t any studies that say bells reduce hunting more than 50%. Most cats just find ways around jiggling the bell or they just don’t walk and wait for a bird to come within pouncing range.

            You can keep your cat however you want but I wouldn’t be sure they aren’t killing any birds, or noninvasive mammals or reptiles.

            • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
              13 hours

              Like I said, my boy kills a lot of invasive lizards. And he proudly displays that fact. If he’d ever killed a bird, I’d sure as hell know.

        • otp@sh.itjust.works
          22 hours

          You can take them outside, but they should be leashed.

          And I don’t know why you’re making a demand like that. Why is your attitude like this?

          If your usual reaction to finding out you’re doing something wrong is to demand a stranger change drastic things about your life to resolve a problem you’re causing, then it’s harder to have sympathy for the situation you described in your original post here given that we only have one side of the story.

        • MrVilliam@sh.itjust.worksBanned from community
          1 day

          Why is it everybody else’s responsibility to provide you with the situation necessary to have pets? Why didn’t you secure the kind of housing needed before becoming a cat owner?

          • Michael@slrpnk.net
            1 day

            Why don’t people have my level of privilege!? They must not be trying hard enough! 😏

              • Michael@slrpnk.net
                22 hours

                Even “poor” people deserve the right to companions. OP didn’t adopt these cats during this living situation, according to their testimony.

          • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
            26 minutes

            Gonna go out on a limb and say it’s habitat destruction.

            My cats are my family and this is what we have right now. How many wild birds is that worth? More than they’ve taken.

    • fta@lemmy.zip
      1 day

      You should make sure to read up on tenant law for your area. If it’s Riverside CA then the landlord needs to give you notice when entering your room. There are statewide tenant laws that supersede the leases, but you need to make sure.

      Second, if it’s not in your lease then they can pound sand. You really should have a copy of your lease. Again, depends on tenant law, but they might be required to provide a copy.

      Sorry this is happening to you. Idk why everyone is fixated on the reasons to keep the window open or closed. If you go to court, only give reasons for the windows being open if the judge asks. Your main pints should be the landlord violating tenant laws by entering your room (if that applies for your area) and threatening to kick you out for something not in the lease.

      Not a lawyer, none is legal advice. Going to a student law clinic for free tenant advice was a good suggestion, but read up on the tenant law for your area, they’re usually not too difficult to read.

    • Deme@sopuli.xyz
      1 day

      So the whole place shares the same A/C? You keeping the window open while that’s blasting is a huge waste of energy. I don’t intend to detract from your other points, but that does seem like a genuine issue to complain about. Have you asked if they could turn the A/C down? Or is there any way to isolate the ventilation?

      • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1 day

        “Oh well actually it’s pretty reasonable for the landlord to take your money and sign documents and then afterwards surprise you with a rule you would have never agreed to saying you’re never allowed to open your window”

        This is not a conversation I will entertain no matter how favorably it is framed in favor of the person breaking several laws against me.

        • Deme@sopuli.xyz
          12 hours

          As I said, I don’t intend to detract from your other points.

          I’m just trying to help you understand what might be behind the complaint so that a compromise could be reached. An unfortunate fact of life is that we live in a society, where it’s sometimes necessary to make compromises.

        • BassTurd@lemmy.world
          1 day

          That’s not what OP said at all. I had some sympathy for you up to this point. You’re just a self centered asshole that doesn’t care about other people. Your landlord sounds like an asshole too, but now I’m kind of on their side. I wouldn’t want to deal with your bullshit either.

    • Switorik@sh.itjust.works
      1 day

      Do you often feel like everyone is against you no matter where you go?

      It’s hot out, really hot out, and you are sharing an ac. Two issues here. Humidity destroys houses and it is not good if the AC is pumping full time.

      If you’re concerned about your cats, investigate installing a cat door in the window. See link for example. Discuss it with the landlord first so you don’t waste money.

      • Michael@slrpnk.net
        1 day

        Do you often feel like everyone is against you no matter where you go?

        Do you always respond to threads where people are venting and need advice by responding like that when their circumstances are less than ideal?

        They explained that their concern is with COVID/shared ventilation and it being way too cold. I respect it. Clearly you don’t, or you didn’t read the thread before being insensitive to OP.

        Have you considered that OP rents the space and has rights associated with that and did you check to make sure OP closes the vents or is able to, before suggesting that OP is just seeking to be victim about everything?

        It’s hot out, really hot out, and you are sharing an ac. Two issues here. Humidity destroys houses.

        If there is no evidence of humidity damage, there is no problem.

        and it is not good if the AC is pumping full time.

        They can have OP manage shutting/blocking the vents or find a way to do it themselves, for example. That’s a reasonable compromise compared to a 3 day notice…

        If you’re concerned about your cats, investigate installing a cat door in the window. See link for example. Discuss it with the landlord first so you don’t waste money.

        Helpful suggestion, to be fair.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
          1 day

          They explained that their concern is with COVID/shared ventilation and it being way too cold.

          If they were concerned with shared ventilation why move there in the first place? Also if it’s “too cold” then why are they making the argument that they can just “shut the vent in the room” in order to appease the landlord for having the window open? They could shut the vent and keep the window closed to keep it warmer in the room.

          If you want to have sympathy for people struggling with housing and high expenses, what about the rest of the people living there that have to pay money they don’t have in order to cool the entire neighborhood? Your empathy shouldn’t only apply to whomever tells you their sob story first.

          • Michael@slrpnk.net
            1 day

            If they were concerned with shared ventilation why move there in the first place?

            OP was pretty clear in their past posts that there is nothing affordable in their area. They are facing housing insecurity. We have no idea of their situation unless OP shared more details in past postings. I checked the post from today and their past post. They may have physical or mental health problems, employment issues, etc. This all impacts one’s ability to work and make money to afford somewhere to live, and I think everybody knows that California is an extremely expensive area to live in.

            If the landlord was concerned about the electricity bill, why didn’t they include a term in the lease/rental agreement to keep the window shut when the A/C is on? OP even suggested to their landlord to raise their rate because they keep their window open and they refused and instead took the actions that OP described in this thread, in addition to forcibly shutting OP’s window from the outside.

            Also if it’s “too cold” then why are they making the argument that they can just “shut the vent in the room” in order to appease the landlord for having the window open? They could shut the vent and keep the window closed to keep it warmer in the room.

            I’m of the opinion that tenants should have thermostats or some form of temperature control. Shutting the vent and keeping the window closed doesn’t sound ideal in the summer there, with today being a high of low-mid 90s (20-25% humidity).

            They have cats that need to go out to live a life outside of the closet-sized room OP currently stays in. OP has a large litterbox that needs ventilation. I am an advocate for responsible pet ownership and I have a hard time not saying to people that outdoor cats should be indoor cats for various important reasons like the disruption that cats cause to the ecosystem, but when I see a thread like this with a pressing issue (losing their housing), my mind goes to triage. How can we support OP? We can inform them of their rights, use this opportunity to educate and inform them, and most importantly support them emotionally.

        • Switorik@sh.itjust.works
          1 day

          High humidity causes mold and physically damages indoor surfaces. You may not see it until it’s too late. That’s a big deal, especially if you don’t own the house and have go deal with the repercussions. We’re talking very expensive and timely repairs.

          I believe both parties are handling this poorly or OP escalated it to what it is now.

          • Michael@slrpnk.net
            1 day

            High humidity causes mold and physically damages indoor surfaces. You may not see it until it’s too late. That’s a big deal, especially if you don’t own the house and have go deal with the repercussions. We’re talking very expensive and timely repairs.

            You are assuming that OP’s room gets humid with the vents open and blowing into it…

            • Switorik@sh.itjust.works
              1 day

              When hot and cold air mix, moisture starts accumulating on the surfaces. After that, mold will start taking root and then it’s nearly too late.

              • Michael@slrpnk.net
                1 day

                Did you consider asking OP if moisture was accumulating before accusing them of negligence?

                I am definitely a layman, but the pressure differential would likely be pushing out if air was blowing into the room. Exception would be in high wind outdoor conditions.

                If there is no obvious moisture buildup or, as I put it earlier, evidence of humidity damage, there is no problem.

                If OP wants the window open and vents blocked, they can run a dehumidifier when they close their window during higher humidity periods of the night/day (to prevent any damage). You could’ve inquired about what the vents looked like and gave that advice in addition to helping them, if necessary, to provide solutions to block the vent or otherwise help them to keep their window open and minimize damage. OP lives in a fairly dry climate, River Side county, CA, I argue damage is unlikely to occur from having the window open.

                Take the feedback. You were not sensitive to somebody seeking support.

                • klankin@piefed.caEnglish
                  1 day

                  Dehumidifier and AC is a massive waste of power and generally doesnt do anything, and the hot/cold difference creates a vortex pulling in hot and expelling cold.

                  • Michael@slrpnk.net
                    1 day

                    Dehumidifier and AC is a massive waste of power and generally doesnt do anything

                    If there is any humidity built up in the room, running it could be a defense if damage is argued by their landlord.

                    Also, I highly doubt even if the intake vent were open that it would successfully pull a significant amount of hot air in and cause humidity damage at any meaningful rate in OP’s climate in California.

                    I’m on the side of letting people keep their windows open, as long as there isn’t damage. If the landlord is afraid of damage, they can raise their concerns and work with OP to formulate solutions instead of physically shutting their window from the outside and escalating this the way they did.

                • holy_scroller@lemmy.zip
                  1 day

                  What magic pressure differential are you referring to? A/C recirculates indoor air and has slightly positive rooms and slightly negative rooms, but will always be net ~1ATM of pressure. If his room has slightly positive pressure and he opens the window, then guess what, hot humid air is being pulling into the house in other people’s rooms, hallways, bathrooms. This would also explain why he doesn’t experience the issues it would cause.

                  • Michael@slrpnk.net
                    1 day

                    It seems like they are living in a closet-sized room. Do you know for a fact there is even an intake vent and that OP doesn’t block it? You have no idea what the situation is. I live in a significantly more humid climate and A/Cs are never installed or maintained properly, even in some schools. Hot and humid air will only be true at some points of the day for OP, who lives in California.

                    The only reason we are even talking about humidity damage is because the person who responded to OP immediately took the landlord’s side and loosely accused OP of feeling that everyone is against them right off the bat.

                    They want their window open, we should tell them their rights, help them understand the risks and potential mitigation strategies, help them formulate a defense… most people have zero issues doing what they want as long as they aren’t causing damage. Opening a window is reasonable because the A/C is too cold for them.

                    If you look at OP’s previous thread, their landlord seems fairly unreasonable, even considering we are getting a one-sided account of events.

        • FatVegan@leminal.space
          1 day

          The good news is, we seem to have found the problem. Tge bad news is, you won’t like it.

        • MrVilliam@sh.itjust.worksBanned from community
          1 day

          I was on the fence until I saw this outburst. Now I’m pretty sure you’re a shitty tenant who’s about to get evicted. You and the landlord both are probably imperfect, and I’m not really gonna bother with too many details since I think you posted more for validation than for advice, but I think your landlord has a slam dunk case if he finds your account here with posts and comments. It could be too late, but your best bet is to delete your account, lawyer up, and stfu online about this before it builds their case against you. The judge doesn’t give a shit about you, he cares about the property owner’s property and possibly whether you’re a disruption to other tenants.

          I hope you figure it out. Good luck.

          • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
            1 day

            You change your mind on a matter of contract law based on how I respond to someone who literally only wrote that first line at the time I responded, then edited the entire rest of their comment in.

            You’re not a serious person and the law isn’t as fickle and stupid as you are. This is a serious issue and situation and you’re here purely for a infantile social pile on. Touch grass.

              • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.mlEnglish
                21 hours

                You appear very well rehearsed with telling people around you off for smelling dog shit.

              • Michael@slrpnk.net
                1 day

                You’re not helping if you say:

                Now I’m pretty sure you’re a shitty tenant who’s about to get evicted. You and the landlord both are probably imperfect, and I’m not really gonna bother with too many details since I think you posted more for validation than for advice, but I think your landlord has a slam dunk case if he finds your account here with posts and comments.

                So, you said before that don’t care about the details, yet now you say “I suspect that you’re likely leaving out significant details.”

                Doubting OP isn’t helping them or making their situation any better. It’s not helping them be a better tenant or to help them to realistically deal with their current situation and achieve a favorable outcome for both parties.

                If their landlord can’t even send a rental agreement in a legible, clear copy, and is in good faith somehow - how could they find this post? I highly doubt that the landlord could even hire a lawyer for this that could find this post for them. Even tech-savvy people don’t know about the fediverse.

                You are telling OP to cope in a broken system, saying they are emotionally immature, telling them to go to therapy (which they very likely can’t afford), you are loosely saying they are seeking out victimhood and bad experiences, you are telling them to introspect when they clearly are facing abuse and some level of their violation of their rights as a tenant…

                Your attitude and choices are probably the cause of most of your challenges here, and you’re really not bothering to have an open mind to any answer that isn’t wildly supportive of your side.

                Sometimes, people go their entire lives facing discrimination and a complete isolation from the people around them, even the people they pay to help them.

                If I were you, I’d choose to not be someone who discriminates against them and takes the side of somebody who is being likely being completely unreasonable (unwilling to increase rate as a compromise to window being open) and abusing a (likely) vulnerable person as a power play.

                I choose to believe people who say they’ve faced stigma, discrimination, abuse, bad experiences, and every time I am surprised to see indicators that they were in fact telling the truth. They may have even left out details. Who cares if they exaggerated a few points, or weren’t as perfect as they claim to have been. Humans don’t need to be perfect to be deserving of kindness, care, and empathy or to be allowed the dignity to live their lives and thrive.

    • DJ Putler@lemmy.mlbot account
      1 day

      Damn people were just joking the other day about how everything is so illegal in the UK that you could be arrested for having your window open but I guess that was already real life

    • vapeloki@lemmy.world
      1 day

      I can not help you with anything legal. I live in a country with consumer rights and am shocked to see how you are treated.

      I can understand both of you. Keeping you window open while the central AC runs will cost a fucking bunch of money and is bad for the environment.

      On the other side, fresh air is important, it is your window and so on

      Now, maybe you can compromise? Is there maybe a way to close the vents in your apartment so that you no longer receive cold air?

      I only know how us apartment look from the inside from good old US Entertainment, but it seems to me that should be straight forward and possible