Management Company Denies Back Door Request for Disabled Resident

A ground-floor apartment owner, who has osteoporosis and epilepsy, requested a back door for emergency escape due to her limited mobility. She moved into her apartment in 2010 and recently upgraded windows and the front door, but lacks a viable escape route through her existing window in case of fire.

Her request to property management, explaining her disability and need for a back door, was denied. A representative reportedly asked, «Well why are you living there then?» when she called, and her mother also received a denial. The resident believes management would be at fault if she died in a fire.

A property managing agent and consultant, Aisling Keenan, clarified that while the resident's concerns are legitimate, a management company typically does not make structural changes to individual apartments based on personal circumstances. Such alterations could set an unsustainable precedent and affect building regulations, fire safety, and overall development integrity. Apartments are fixed structures, and modifications are subject to physical, structural, regulatory, and legal limitations. The requested alteration falls outside the scope of what the management company can reasonably undertake or approve.