Oh, the horrors one hears about apartments.

Any apartment dweller will run into some problems during their stay home-sweet-home-away-from-home, but what does one do when the small problems develop catastrophic proportions?

“If (there are) problems, they should always go to the landlord first,” said Sixth Ward Alderman Jamie Pennington. “Usually they’ll take care of it.”

Damage varies from leaky faucets to heat problems and so on, but Pennington said most of these problems can be fixed.

Landlords and tenants frequently find themselves in arguments over who is to do what repairs. Joyce Williams, landlord and owner of Lincolnshire West Apartments, 1307 W. Lincoln Hwy., said if a tenant causes extensive damage to his or her apartment, the management will write a letter ordering the tenant to repair the damages.

Williams said if the repairs are not done, tenants will be charged by taking the fines out of their security deposit.

Pennington said if landlords refuse to do the repairs, tenants could go to the city to see if the building violates any codes. He said it is not uncommon for buildings to be in violation of city codes. “It happens often enough,” he said. “Too often if you ask me.”

Pennington said although going to the city for code violations can be a long process, tenants should “do something. If not for yourself, for the person moving in behind you.”

Another problem that Williams mentioned was excessive partying. If neighbors complain about loud parties, tenants at Lincolnshire West can be fined or evicted. “Here it doesn’t happen as much as other places because we live here,” Williams said.