In a now-viral TikTok, a woman claimed her apartment complex demolished the staircase without notice, leaving her trapped inside her apartment near Atlanta, Georgia.
Olivia Crump, who goes by @foodbattle2008 on TikTok, received more than 1 million views and 865 comments since she posted her video on Monday.
“When your apartment removes the stairs without warning and you’re stuck for hours,” the on-screen text read.
In the video, Crump showed the result of a demolished staircase that left a large hole where the concrete stairs used to lay. Crump, who appeared to be peering down from an upper-floor apartment, said she was given no notice before the construction began.
“A princess trapped in her tower,” Crump joked in an email with a photo of the construction attached.
Crump told Newsweek her apartment is on the third floor and that she and her dog were stuck for about four hours. She explained that a person building the stairs told her to hop the last unfinished step with her dog to get down.
In the comments, many users said that she should have received a notice and that the apartment complex cannot legally destroy the only access to the building without providing an alternative route.
“Properties are required to have a point of egress,” one comment read.
“Call the fire marshal,” another user wrote. “It’s a nice hefty fine for them.”
One user recounted a similar experience they had at their university in which the sidewalk was removed without notice.
“I’m in a wheelchair and one time my university removed the sidewalk to the only entrance to the building with an elevator & put a 5ft trench there,” one user wrote.
In the comments, the user explained it was their last day of school so it wasn’t an issue for the semester, but they said they “made sure” the school knew she was not happy. Many mentioned that the user’s experience was a violation of the American Disabilities Act.
In many states, landlords are required to give tenants 24 hours notice before any construction is done on the building. Others require a 30-day notice, while some require landlords to cover the cost of temporary moving due to construction that could affect tenants.
According to Apartments.com, if a tenant feels that construction inconvenienced or displaced them, the landlord could be breaching the lease.
Many users said Crump was put in a dangerous situation due to the construction and even worse since she claimed she was given no notice. Several users mentioned that it is “highly illegal” to remove the only access point for the upper-level units.
“Building code, fire and lease violations,” another user commented. “Hefty, hefty fines.”
Crump said that her landlord gave her no notice before the construction and that when she reached out to them via email they did not respond.
“I finally called them and they told me they didn’t know the stairs were being worked on and asked how the workers were getting down and if I could do that too,” she told Newsweek. “I could have used a ladder or something in an emergency but my dog couldn’t have.”
Crump said she does not plan on taking legal action. She said she just wants the apartment complex to “acknowledge that they put us in a s**tty situation.”
Grant Smith/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images
Updated 12/29/2021, 4:02 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a verified video of the event.
In a now-viral TikTok, a woman claimed her apartment complex demolished the staircase without notice, leaving her trapped inside her apartment near Atlanta, Georgia.Olivia Crump, who goes by @foodbattle2008 on TikTok, received more than 1 million views and 865 comments since she posted her video on Monday. “When your apartment removes the stairs without warning and you’re stuck for hours,” the on-screen text read.In the video, Crump showed the result of a demolished staircase that left a large hole where the concrete stairs used to lay. Crump, who appeared to be peering down from an upper-floor apartment, said she was given no notice before the construction began.”A princess trapped in her tower,” Crump joked in an email with a photo of the construction attached.Crump told Newsweek her apartment is on the third floor and that she and her dog were stuck for about four hours. She explained that a person building the stairs told her to hop the last unfinished step with her dog to get down.In the comments, many users said that she should have received a notice and that the apartment complex cannot legally destroy the only access to the building without providing an alternative route.”Properties are required to have a point of egress,” one comment read.”Call the fire marshal,” another user wrote. “It’s a nice hefty fine for them.”One user recounted a similar experience they had at their university in which the sidewalk was removed without notice.”I’m in a wheelchair and one time my university removed the sidewalk to the only entrance to the building with an elevator & put a 5ft trench there,” one user wrote.In the comments, the user explained it was their last day of school so it wasn’t an issue for the semester, but they said they “made sure” the school knew she was not happy. Many mentioned that the user’s experience was a violation of the American Disabilities Act.In many states, landlords are required to give tenants 24 hours notice before any construction is done on the building. Others require a 30-day notice, while some require landlords to cover the cost of temporary moving due to construction that could affect tenants.According to Apartments.com, if a tenant feels that construction inconvenienced or displaced them, the landlord could be breaching the lease.Many users said Crump was put in a dangerous situation due to the construction and even worse since she claimed she was given no notice. Several users mentioned that it is “highly illegal” to remove the only access point for the upper-level units.”Building code, fire and lease violations,” another user commented. “Hefty, hefty fines.”Crump said that her landlord gave her no notice before the construction and that when she reached out to them via email they did not respond.”I finally called them and they told me they didn’t know the stairs were being worked on and asked how the workers were getting down and if I could do that too,” she told Newsweek. “I could have used a ladder or something in an emergency but my dog couldn’t have.”Crump said she does not plan on taking legal action. She said she just wants the apartment complex to “acknowledge that they put us in a s**tty situation.” A TikToker claimed her apartment complex removed the staircase during construction, leaving her trapped without any notice. The woman said she was stuck in her apartment for four hours. Grant Smith/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images Updated 12/29/2021, 4:02 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a verified video of the event.