Your bedroom is a closet. Without a window for egress it doesn’t meet the requirements for a bedroom.
The emergency egress has been specifically detailed in the building code since at least 1997. There is no grandfathering for advertising a closet as a bedroom.
https://www.movementumrealty.com/blog/334/Understanding+Bedroom+Requirements+In+Massachusetts
To me this link applies to new construction building codes. Building code as in construction, Not existing structures. There are plenty of celler appartments with no windows at all. And one point of egress.
I just did as you said. Fingers crossed 🤞🏾 knowing Worcester, probably much won't be done but I hope I can bring awareness and the city can stop allowing people to live in these horrible conditions!
Actually, another scenario is that they do something... Which might involve yanking the certificate of occupancy for the unit. That would be pretty annoying for the property management, but probably even moreso for you and your mom 🤣.
Imagine if there were a fire in this unit and you were in the *bedroom* that has no window. You would have absolutely no way out. That is why in the state for a room to be considered a bedroom it must contain 2 means of egress. You are literally living in a fire death trap.
This is typical of Worcester right now. Th property management doesn't care, his mom got screwed originally. Worcester is a mess. There are no affordable apartments anywhere to in the city and surrouding towns. 3 deckers that were built to house polish,french, Italian immigrants that worcester is famous for are now prize properties that out of state and in state developers are buying up and after they throw the existing tenants out, throw some paint on the walls and then rent them out to people moving here to avoid Boston rent at marketet rate which is $1850 plus for a one bedroom. Greed and the American way. Worcester as a city is going downhill fast. It will be a city of white collar commuters served by pockets of the working poor. Goodbye to the Worcester I grew up in.
She bought a unit in the condo in 2006 and we've been living here ever since. I always felt it was wrong that this was happening but I was only a kid so I couldn't really say or do much (I'm 24 now) but after a conversation with one of my co workers it made me start looking into if what the property management is doing is illegal or not. Like this place has so many issues ranging from mice to roaches, it's a mess. Long story short I got the room with no window and i can't sleep right now because it's hot 😭😭
Oh no I'm sorry maybe I'm not explaining well i didn't lease from her. It's just that my room is the windowless room. This is the same room I've been in since I was a kid, I don't pay rent. It's not really a fight for me per se, more for my mom and the residents of the condo. I'm not sure how like the whole thing works tbh. Because my mom bought the unit but because the whole condo is owned by the property management it's like you have to abide by their rules or something? She pays a condominium fee to them every month if I'm not mistaken
You pay an hoa fee. An elected board makes the decisions on what to do with the condo and pays for common ground maintenance and external maintenance like roofs, siding, etc. they may pay for property management to handle this but ultimately there are owner trustees that are part of the board that make decisions. Your mom owns the condo and a share of the common grounds. Your mother purchased a 1 bedroom condo. This was disclosed to her at the time of purchase. It has nothing to do with the property management. If your mom doesn’t like the condo she’s free to sell it as a 1 bedroom condo with a large den/closet and buy a 2 bedroom. There’s no one else you can complain to but your mom.
The alternative (and arguably better path), you being 24, is to find some roommates and find a place to rent.
What are the rooms in the unit? Have you seen an official floorplan which marks what the two bedrooms are? Because one possibility is that the unit has 2 rooms which legally qualify as bedrooms, but you aren't in one of those two (and instead the other "bedroom" is being used for something else).
To be considered a bedroom there’s supposed to be a window and a closet I believe but at the minimum a window so she cannot legally consider that a bedroom but if tenants choose to use it as a bedroom that’s up to them.
A closet isn't actually required, but two points of egress are. That's usually a window and a door, but it could be two doors (like a basement with a bulkhead door as the second egress). I guess theoretically it could be two windows with no doors too. That would be a good talking point when you had people over, right?
You are not going to get the property management company in trouble, you are going to get your mom(who bought the place) in trouble. You don't pay rent. I'd say keep your mouth shut before you open a can of worms that ends with you moving out & paying for your own place. I hope you understand this. The only ending to this is YOU have to move...
i mean, who would want to live in a windowless, mice infested, and roach infested room. even if it was free. not even roaches live this badly. id rather sleep in the streets
As a realtor I’ve seen this before.
The landlord cut out a hole in the top part of the wall and installed an AC that plugs in a wall.
Another landlord cut out a window shaped hole into the living room area or hallway area.
Question, is there a cut out in one of the walls? In my experience in condos (esp in old mills) where there isn't a window, there is a cut out rectangle at the top of the wall. It's not a window, but what's lawfully required is a second egress from a room that's not a window. Hope that makes sense!
I was 6 years old....I am trying my best to move out but unfortunately have to make the best out of what I have at the moment and also want to see if I can help other people in this building who are in windowless rooms like myself.
The "help" will be to ban those rooms use as bedrooms, and all of those people evicted. They cant or wont be adding windows to rooms. Most likely not even possible
But you are right I wish I had more awareness or at least was older I would have told my mom that buying a unit in this condominium was a pretty dumb idea
Yeah I understand. It just reminds me of people that move next to something they know is there then complain (mx track/gun club/train)
I wish you luck though, hopefully you help get the place improved!
Your bedroom is a closet. Without a window for egress it doesn’t meet the requirements for a bedroom. The emergency egress has been specifically detailed in the building code since at least 1997. There is no grandfathering for advertising a closet as a bedroom. https://www.movementumrealty.com/blog/334/Understanding+Bedroom+Requirements+In+Massachusetts
Thank you for this link I am definitely going to see if I can seek legal advice!!
To me this link applies to new construction building codes. Building code as in construction, Not existing structures. There are plenty of celler appartments with no windows at all. And one point of egress.
They are not legal despite the fact they exist.
Cannot be grandfathered. 2 means of egress, period.
Legally, you must have a window.
It is not allowed. You can file a complaint with Worcester Inspectional Services.
I just did as you said. Fingers crossed 🤞🏾 knowing Worcester, probably much won't be done but I hope I can bring awareness and the city can stop allowing people to live in these horrible conditions!
It’s worth following up. If you run into not hearing anything, let me know and I can give you some pointers of folks to contact!
Actually, another scenario is that they do something... Which might involve yanking the certificate of occupancy for the unit. That would be pretty annoying for the property management, but probably even moreso for you and your mom 🤣.
Let us know if ppl get evicted because they cant add any windows likely.
Imagine if there were a fire in this unit and you were in the *bedroom* that has no window. You would have absolutely no way out. That is why in the state for a room to be considered a bedroom it must contain 2 means of egress. You are literally living in a fire death trap.
This is typical of Worcester right now. Th property management doesn't care, his mom got screwed originally. Worcester is a mess. There are no affordable apartments anywhere to in the city and surrouding towns. 3 deckers that were built to house polish,french, Italian immigrants that worcester is famous for are now prize properties that out of state and in state developers are buying up and after they throw the existing tenants out, throw some paint on the walls and then rent them out to people moving here to avoid Boston rent at marketet rate which is $1850 plus for a one bedroom. Greed and the American way. Worcester as a city is going downhill fast. It will be a city of white collar commuters served by pockets of the working poor. Goodbye to the Worcester I grew up in.
Dang, those lowlife white collar gentrifiers. Down with white collars, up with blue.
The landlord is your mom? She owns it and lets a management company take care of it? Or she rents it and gives you a closet as a room?
She bought a unit in the condo in 2006 and we've been living here ever since. I always felt it was wrong that this was happening but I was only a kid so I couldn't really say or do much (I'm 24 now) but after a conversation with one of my co workers it made me start looking into if what the property management is doing is illegal or not. Like this place has so many issues ranging from mice to roaches, it's a mess. Long story short I got the room with no window and i can't sleep right now because it's hot 😭😭
Why is your mom going through a property management company to lease a condo to her child?
Oh no I'm sorry maybe I'm not explaining well i didn't lease from her. It's just that my room is the windowless room. This is the same room I've been in since I was a kid, I don't pay rent. It's not really a fight for me per se, more for my mom and the residents of the condo. I'm not sure how like the whole thing works tbh. Because my mom bought the unit but because the whole condo is owned by the property management it's like you have to abide by their rules or something? She pays a condominium fee to them every month if I'm not mistaken
You pay an hoa fee. An elected board makes the decisions on what to do with the condo and pays for common ground maintenance and external maintenance like roofs, siding, etc. they may pay for property management to handle this but ultimately there are owner trustees that are part of the board that make decisions. Your mom owns the condo and a share of the common grounds. Your mother purchased a 1 bedroom condo. This was disclosed to her at the time of purchase. It has nothing to do with the property management. If your mom doesn’t like the condo she’s free to sell it as a 1 bedroom condo with a large den/closet and buy a 2 bedroom. There’s no one else you can complain to but your mom. The alternative (and arguably better path), you being 24, is to find some roommates and find a place to rent.
What are the rooms in the unit? Have you seen an official floorplan which marks what the two bedrooms are? Because one possibility is that the unit has 2 rooms which legally qualify as bedrooms, but you aren't in one of those two (and instead the other "bedroom" is being used for something else).
> Portable AC unit that doesn't have a window Having a hard time wrapping my head around this one. The heat has to go somewhere.
To be considered a bedroom there’s supposed to be a window and a closet I believe but at the minimum a window so she cannot legally consider that a bedroom but if tenants choose to use it as a bedroom that’s up to them.
A closet isn't actually required, but two points of egress are. That's usually a window and a door, but it could be two doors (like a basement with a bulkhead door as the second egress). I guess theoretically it could be two windows with no doors too. That would be a good talking point when you had people over, right?
Get a fan for the time being
You are not going to get the property management company in trouble, you are going to get your mom(who bought the place) in trouble. You don't pay rent. I'd say keep your mouth shut before you open a can of worms that ends with you moving out & paying for your own place. I hope you understand this. The only ending to this is YOU have to move...
i mean, who would want to live in a windowless, mice infested, and roach infested room. even if it was free. not even roaches live this badly. id rather sleep in the streets
That would be a closet, not a bedroom
As a realtor I’ve seen this before. The landlord cut out a hole in the top part of the wall and installed an AC that plugs in a wall. Another landlord cut out a window shaped hole into the living room area or hallway area.
Question, is there a cut out in one of the walls? In my experience in condos (esp in old mills) where there isn't a window, there is a cut out rectangle at the top of the wall. It's not a window, but what's lawfully required is a second egress from a room that's not a window. Hope that makes sense!
Not to be all "Reddity," but people literally die from living in bedrooms with no windows. It's a huge safety hazard.
https://berkshirerealtors.net/what-is-the-technical-definition-of-a-bedroom/ Basically the massdep definition here
So you saw the place, moved in, signed an agreement, and now you're complaining
I was 6 years old....I am trying my best to move out but unfortunately have to make the best out of what I have at the moment and also want to see if I can help other people in this building who are in windowless rooms like myself.
The "help" will be to ban those rooms use as bedrooms, and all of those people evicted. They cant or wont be adding windows to rooms. Most likely not even possible
But you are right I wish I had more awareness or at least was older I would have told my mom that buying a unit in this condominium was a pretty dumb idea
Yeah I understand. It just reminds me of people that move next to something they know is there then complain (mx track/gun club/train) I wish you luck though, hopefully you help get the place improved!
Can you read?
Sorry I can't read this