Can my building association refuse to fix the internet in my unit if it is preventing me from working?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just moved to Hawaii, and am renting an apartment that is on the 3rd floor of a three story walk up. The building itself is actually more of a condo style situation where each unit is owned by a different owner. The building was built in the 60s when internet wasn’t even a consideration, but somewhere along the way it was wired for internet access. My problem is that due to the wiring being so old, my unit which is at the top of the “stack” (comprised of the two units below me and myself), in order for the wiring to be fixed to allow for internet access the ISP needs access to both units below me in order to run the new wire.

I’ve talked to the ISP and they are willing to absorb the cost, send out twice as many technicians so the process is completed as fast as possible, and run the best wiring they can in order to “sweeten the pot” for the building management association. Currently the unit directly below me is vacant so there is no way to directly schedule with the tenant to allow access, but there is a clause in the building bylaws that allows management to preform a “forced entry” in situations such as this where they simply key into the unit so necessary building repairs or maintenance can be completed. The building association refuses to preform a forced entry because in their words they “want to prioritize costs” I have no idea what this means, but my landlord is saying it is because a forced entry would look bad on the association.

The issue is that I am working for the federal government and I signed a telework agreement upon my job acceptance, which states that when necessary I will be able to work remotely from home and complete my job related tasks without issue, and I am prepared to do so. At the moment since I do not have an internet connection in my unit this is impossible, and my livelihood is directly at stake; any day that I am unable to work I will not be paid for, and I’m assuming after a while will eventually be terminated. Management is citing privacy laws as well as their bylaws which do not mention anything of internet due to the time they were written, and apparently refuse to update the bylaws because it “would be to expensive.”

In my opinion this seems somewhat illegal as I would assume if nothing else I am entitled to the ability to make a living, and the fact that everyone else in the building has some form of internet access but me (management also cites they do not want to allow the work to take place because at the moment I’m the only one complaining.) The ISP has come out twice and said it is the wiring, and that I am on the worse end of the stick because my unit is at the end of the wire run in the stack. The middle unit is vacant so nobody can weigh in on the experience, and the first unit is occupied by an elderly man who I do not think pays his his internet speeds much mind, also due to his location in the stack his signal could very well be adequate.

I would like to know if there are any legal grounds I have to try and obtain a court order to get this fixed. I am not from Hawaii and I have only moved here three weeks ago, but this seems like a slam dunk in court, is there any advice or insight you all could provide that could confirm or deny this? I’m at the end of my rope, and don’t see any other way forward unfortunately.

2

A couple of thoughts:

  • Depending on where you are in Hawaii, you might get acceptable performance from a hotspot that uses mobile phone data packets, meaning you wouldn’t need any wiring at all to use the Internet.

  • Perhaps you could arrange to share one of your new neighbors’ WiFi, at least temporarily. I actually have a Cat 5 cable run to my downstairs neighbor, and we split the bill (undoubtedly in violation of the ISP’s terms of service).

  • Perhaps new coax or Ethernet cabling could be run down the exterior wall (behind a downspout or in some other manner) at least temporarily, making access to the lower-floor unit unnecessary.

  • The condo declaration undoubtedly makes reference to “utilities” being provided to all units. You, the owner, or a local attorney might do some saber-rattling regarding that to get the condo management motivated.

3

What law entitles you to the ability to make a living?

4

Thanks for the input! I can use a hotspot temporarily per the teleworking guidelines, but my supervisor would only be comfortable authorizing it if the situation was moving towards a definitive resolution. I talked to the ISP and asked for an external run, but they said unfortunately it wouldn’t be possible. I feel that getting a court order would be simple due to the fact that what I’m asking for isn’t unreasonable in the slightest.

They wired the building for internet access in the past, and I would think that would imply a commitment to maintaining it moving forward in the future. The ISP is absorbing all cost, and comitting to getting the work done as quickly as possible, as well as the fact that the work is absolutely noninvasive to any of the units. As it stands I AM the only one complaining about a problem, because I am the only one in the stack without service. I agree I think that in court this would be a swift trail, and in my favor nonetheless, but I’m just a young kid who just moved to a completely new state so I cant say for certain if thats actually the case.

5

I don’t know, and never claimed to, that’s why I said I was assuming

6

I think that to prevail, you may have to overcome the hurdle of showing the landlord is in violation of your lease. Failing that, it’s difficult to imagine you would have standing against the condominium association as it usually addresses issues directly with the unit owner as spelled out in their Condominium Declarations setting out responsibilities between the Association and unit owners.

I would first study the lease and then research the Condominium Declarations and By-Laws to determine if there is a violation. If a lease issue, you go against the landlord. If it’s a By-Law issue, ask the landlord to take action against the condo.

If neither addresses the situation, you may want to consider discussing with an attorney.

7

The landlord has gone to the property manager on my behalf already, and the property manager claims to have gone to the board, and the board has said they do not want to pursue the repairs because it would require the forced entry. Even though they are allowed to preform the forced entry by their own bylaws (per the property manager, I’ve requested a copy to verify this myself), they have decided not to because they feel it would be a bad look, or more specifically to “preserve costs”.

My landlord is behind me on this because it is their unit and as an owner they have told me that they would have a hard time renting it going forward if it lacked internet access. If the landlord has to be the one to settle this with the association in court that’s fine, but I’d like to try and do my best to line as much as this up for them as I can so all they have to do is simply take it to the courts and get the order.

If I DO have a decent case (or more specifically my landlord), and they still decide not to pursue a court order then I as a tenant am fully prepared to take this matter with my landlords inaction to the court as well. My main concern though is if this is a reasonable legal stance to take, and I understand without the bylaws in hand there is a degree of speculation, but generally I feel that my situation would absolutely result in a judge issuing a court order for its resolution. Sorry if I’m going on and on sounding redundant…I hope this isint a bloated response! :grimacing:

8

Just because something sounds reasonable or like the right answer, that does not mean you will win in court. You need a law or a contract provision that shows the association is obligated to do this.

I agree that you should consult an attorney. There are multiple layers of contracts and parties. An attorney can assess your case and maybe get it taken care of with a letter, or advise you on chances of success with other tactics.

9

I dont have a copy of the bylaws, but from just a quick glance over the Hawaiian Condominium Property Act the upkeep section states:

“Each unit owner shall afford to the association and the other unit owners, and to employees, independent contractors, or agents of the association or other unit owners, during reasonable hours, access through the owner’s unit reasonably necessary for those purposes.”

I don’t want to seem like a junior pretend attorney, but I think this entire thing is simple (because maintenance in buildings should be) so I definitely plan on consulting a lawyer. You are right though, I’ve seen similar people go into a court room feeling just like I do only to end up dissapointed…I imagine it happens every day!

10

I have no doubt it is reasonable and I believe you understand the condo’s concern here seems to involve money they may have to spend and they seem to be using an ambiguity in the by-laws to attempt to justify their position. When it comes to the “forced entry”, if this entry and repair requires your unit only (as opposed to units below you), once you have the by-laws in hand, this term may be more clear.

Example: If repair is limited to your unit, “forced entry” seems moot as permission will be granted. If repair involves other units, permission is needed from those unit owners to counter the condo’s argument.

I have dealt with numerous condo associations and you may have learned they are usually made up of other unit owners having either vast or limited knowledge of their responsibilities. Once you have the by-laws and if they are favorable to your position, another conversation with the property manager may help. If not, a demand letter from an attorney may well get their attention.

11

These are my thoughts exactly. The repair is limited to my unit because my unit is the only one in the stack currently being affected by the decades old wiring (or I’m the only one who cares at the very least). It just so happens that to fix the cable that is affecting my unit, access to the two under is necessary. The property manager has told me and my landlord that the bylaws mention nothing about internet so her hands are tied, and that updating the bylaws would be too expensive. I’m not sure if there will be anything of relevance in the bylaws because of how outdated they are for this specific situation.

My hope is that at the very least I’ll be able to show in the bylaws that a forced entry under these circumstances is allowed, and under state policy it’s required. I’m sure that a lawyer will be able to put it in much much better terms, but I (maybe naïvely) believe I’ve got them dead to rights…Hopefully

12

I hope so as well. Good luck to you.

13

I am a condo association president. I’m in FL, so the legal situation may be is different than HI. And certainly the specific rights and responsibilities of the Association, the owners, and the sub-tenants such as yourself depend on the specifics of the condo documents. My documents are not the same as yours. Common condo industry practices in FL will also differ from HI.

With all that said …

The idea that the board is concerned about “costs” for the forced entry has an easy and complete refutation: you’ll happily pay for whatever the locksmith charges to open & close the door. They just have to schedule it and approve it, but the bill will go directly to you. If they want to argue that they need to detail a staff member to watch your workers for an hour, tell them you’ll happily pay for that too.

The idea they’re concerned that a forced entry “looks bad” seems completely irrational to me. There is no public audience to be aware of these things. Nor are these things somehow part of a permanent public record. At least not as we do it.

Now what they may be saying but very euphemistically is “The owner of that unit is a total jerk who we’ve already had lots of run-ins with. We are not going to stick our head in that hornet’s nest again for you.”

Under my association’s documents, our right of entry absent unit owner approval is limited to “emergencies” that represent a clear risk of damage to the common areas or to another unit. The classic example being a water leak. As a strict matter, your situation does not rise to that level. As such were you in my complex I’d happily have our property management assist in an entry with owner approval, but not without. And certainly not over the unit owner’s objections. Sorry. Sometimes it sucks. But I would plead your case pretty hard with the unit owner; that’s just the way we roll here.

In FL the law provides that we cannot discriminate in any way as between an owner and a tenant. You are not a second class citizen in our mini-society. The only thing you don’t get is the right to vote; that belongs to the unit owner. Other than that, all our policies, procedures, rules, and behaviors must be the same regardless of which status the occupant has. It sounds like your board may not be following that approach. Maybe they don’t have to, but it’s a question worth asking your local property experts. For darn sure if you can get your own unit owner(s) going to bat for you that will be more persuasive.

You say the unit beneath you is “unoccupied”. That doesn’t mean it’s unowned. You might try looking on your local property assessor’s or county recorder’s website to learn who owns that unit & try to contact them directly. Though that may well fail; I have unoccupied units owned by elderly people who’re incompetent in nursing homes a thousand miles from here. Locating their extended family can be an expensive and difficult chore. Even when located, some of them are very defensive and others are easy to work with.


Clearly it sounds like your board has its face set against this effort, for whatever reasons good or bad. Now you need to figure out why. And perhaps approach the board members / president yourself. I often find that involving middlemen such as property managers, rental agents, etc., just makes things worse and puts everybody in a defensive mood: "What's the worst thing that could possibly happen? *That's* what I need to guard against with all my might!". The more middlemen in teh game of telephone, the worse it gets. Meeting face to face (from 6 feet away ;) ) with the actual principal(s) involved can be much more effective as folks can be much more reasonable.

Good Luck.

14

Late add:

One last tidbit of advice having carefully read your last post.

Do NOT lawyer up until you’ve exhausted every other possible avenue of approach. The instant that happens the board goes into total CYA mode where the A isn’t so much theirs as it is the Association’s. Once you lawyer up I have to also. Cooperation is out, protecting the Association is in. I have far more budget than you do, and I have far more patience than you do for the status quo.

If you find you truly need to lawyer up, do so. But even if you are in the right, which I believe you are, it may well be a Pyrrhic victory 2 years later.

15

I appreciate the detailed response! As far as I know the initial effort on the property managers behalf was sending an email to both owners of the units below which she said she had gotten no response from, and then telling me the board did not want to pursue a forced entry. After my landlord stepped in on my behalf that’s when they informed me of the boards stance being due to “prioritizing costs” and not wanting to look bad.

My landlords current approach is to try and find the owner of the unit below on our own, but if the initial email response (or lack thereof) is any indicator, I do not think that will be easy if at all possible. The mindset of tracking down the owner seems very worrying to me because I honestly don’t see at what point it would ever end. We could be waiting for an email, or a phone call, or a fax, or whatever else for who knows how long while I’m being told to wait the entire time as my supervisor begins to lose patience before eventually firing me.

I thought the angle of this falling into the category of a necessary repair would be enough to force the association to act. Perhaps I could try and get a fire inspector or someone to say the old cabling represents a fire hazard? I have had the idea that since I’m the only unit in the stack not receiving internet it would be no more different than being the only one not receiving water. In the legal sense I was hoping it would be as simple as a judge saying “your property is providing this utility to all tenants except one, this is due to maintenance needs, and you all need to preform said maintenance.”

If a court order saying something along those lines were to be obtained then it’s my hope that the association would get it done forced entry or not. Whether that involves tracking down the owner, or keying in because they can’t, I’m really just looking for something to hold them accountable to the maintenance of their property. If they can do that without a forced entry then great, but like so many other people have already said, they currently just don’t seem motivated.

16

This prefigures a paragraph I almost included.

At least here in FL, internet is NOT a mandated service. In general landlord / tenant law, failing to provide electricity and water, and heating / cooking gas if that’s how the unit works is required. Absent those things the property is legally “uninhabitable”.

At least here now that is not true of internet service. In HI? I have no idea.

IOW, they should want to help even though internet is not required. But they aren’t required to help.

Agree the issue is lack of board motivation. IMO the best way to move them your way is to understand their true motivations. They may be too busy, too scared of COVID, hemmed in by prior policies or mistakes that you don’t know about, etc. Or they might just be flaming jerks. IMO until you understand which, you don’t know which tools will be most effective and which will be most counterproductive.

17

Would internet being a mandated service matter since the building has already been wired for it? I told my landlord similarly that I’d like to believe since I’m not asking for a brand new cable run to establish service, and instead a replacement of an old wire to maintain the service already in the building, the situation falls under a maintenance category.

I agree with trying to talk to someone on the board directly though. I recurved the property manager’s supervisor contact information a week or so ago, but have neglected to use it because of the way she framed it that due to my being a tenant and not an owner, the association wasn’t supposed to be dealing with me in the first place. At this point trying to reach out seems like it can’t make things any worse so I suppose I’ll try and call on Monday. It’s just insane to think that an association can leave me in my apartment unable to work or access the internet while everyone else on the property can.

I know this is going to come off as tasteless but I’m admittedly desperate as they come. If I were to try and pull the race card do you think they may flinch? It’s shameless, but I’m literally looking for anything I can use, and from what I’ve seen I just might be the only one of my kind in this small building. Again it’s shameless and tasteless but please understand my back is against the wall in terms of trying to solve this

18

You don’t need to come to them as a supplicant bowing and scraping, but you also don’t want to come to them as a demander. Be the voice of calm questioning reason, not the voice of increasing desperation.

At least at first. This first interaction is about testing the waters and converting yourself from a unit number into a human being. All this is Organizational Behavior 101 & Psych 101 that applies to any professional interaction.

I think you will have more success dealing with the board members than you will with the PM or worse yet the PM’s boss. That may reflect more my situation than yours though.

19

As it stands I have no way of contacting the board members or even finding out who they are. The associations website is very bare bones and lacks any information like that. At best I can call the office Monday and ask for the contact information, or see if my landlord would be willing to put me in contact, but I have a feeling they are committed to their “track down the owner ourselves” approach, and will tell me to focus on that instead of trying to talk to the board.

20

Different option. Your ISP might be approaching this the wrong way. Not sure.

Is your place a converted house or more like apartments? Is there a common area for the stairs?

If not a house there is good chance there is a service or utility run that is used for pipes, electrical & telephone wires. The Fiber or Cat-6 or Cat-7 could run up the service run and then into your apartment.