Rent unabated

Our attempt to get rent abatement was met with stiff resistance. They responded by voiding our partial check, refusing discussion, calling it nonpayment of rent, and beginning the pre-eviction process. That was not pleasant. I got a little freaked out. We looked into it, and although they'd have to take us to court in order to actually throw us out, we decided to pay up. Among other reasons, it's not our last month here.

There was a "construction update" meeting on Tuesday, attended by a number of angry tenants. Many of the units are much worse off than ours, and no one is getting a satisfactory response from the management. They have an email group and are coordinating their efforts! I was delighted to find this little rebel band, and even more pleased when I learned that they have met with a lawyer who is willing to represent all of us. There may be more on that later this week.

The day after I politely recounted my pre-eviction story for all to hear at the meeting, the management offered us a settlement: $128. That's not even per month - that's the total offer. And that's if and only if we sign an agreement stating that we will not seek any further compensation, that we understand this is not compensation for damages but merely a goodwill offering, etc, etc. This is laughable. We think that ten times that amount would be more fair.
We'll throw in our lot with the lawyer.