Nearly Two Weeks After Their Apartment’s Ceiling Collapsed, Beverly Couple Still Waiting For Landlord To Make Repairs

By Lauren Victory

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — There are things that go bump in the night, and that was half the ceiling for a Chicago couple. Drywall and insulation came raining down all over their bed and belongings.

Now another problem: the tenants say they’re in limbo with no timeline for a repair. CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory takes us inside their busted-up Beverly home.

Walking to Adrienne Render’s apartment this week, you might’ve thought she and her husband were in the process of moving.

“We’ve been living here for 11 years,” said Render, whose bedroom furniture is wrapped up and belongings are boxed up.

The Renders’ rearrangement is thanks to a caved-in ceiling. It came crashing down on July 10, exposing rafters, cobwebs, and more.

“Up above, this is the actual roof, you know to outside,” said James Render, pointing to the damage. “All of the insulation, fiberglass, everything fell down.”

He said he was up until 2 a.m., transferring valuables out of the bedroom and cleaning up debris.

“I got [three] 39 gallon trash bags of this material,” he said, motioning to a little bit of insulation that remains on the floor.

“It was awful. It was awful,” said his wife, shaking her head.

The Chicago couple would like to move forward, but they’re actually stalled. They’ve been waiting on repairs for a week and a half so far with, no timeline from their landlord.

“We were just asking, because of the damage, what our parameters are if we could get any compensation?” said Mr. Render.

Compensation like reduced rent because their apartment – down to one bedroom from two – is now reduced in value. That request is within their rights, landlord and tenant attorney Michael Zink told CBS 2.

Zink said it’s normal to make a partial payment for a partially-used apartment, although the law isn’t clear what “partial” means.

“I would like my full security deposit as well,” said Mrs. Render, reading from an official letter she sent her landlord earlier this week. She stated he has 14 days from the July 10 incident to make repairs.

CBS 2 was able to reach the landlord by phone. He declined an interview, but said he is waiting on insurance before making any rent decisions. As of Tuesday, the adjuster still hasn’t been out to the property.

His tenants are left in limbo, and in fear of what could come crumbling down next.

“This cracking is starting to continue,” said James Render, pointing to parts of the ceiling he said didn’t have any issues a few days ago.

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