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In a 14-second TikTok, a user going by Ravioli (@wizardsfan12345) shared the bizarre sight he witnessed upon arriving at his apartment building one night. The stairs to his second-floor unit seemingly disappeared.
The video, which has accrued 4.4 million views since it was posted on Wednesday, starts with Ravioli filming the floor before panning to the parking lot and explaining he just got home.
“I just got home to my apartment. And the f—— stairs are missing,” he says. He pans right to show that where a staircase used to be, there is only a black handrail attached to the wall. “I live up here,” he adds. He pans up to show the now inaccessible second floor, “and the f—— stairs are gone.”
‘I Fear This Would Be My Last Straw’
Viewers in the comments section were stunned. Some shared concern for the tenant, while others took a comedic approach to the situation.
“Have [you] tried a double jump?” one jokingly asked, referring to the feature in many video games that allows players to perform a second jump mid-air, letting them reach otherwise inaccessible platforms.
“The least they could do is provide a trampoline at the bottom,” a second said.
“Stairway (went) to heaven,” a third wrote.
Meanwhile, a panicked viewer said, “I need and i cannot express how bad I NEED AN UPDATE sir.”
As of this writing, Ravioli has not posted an update about how the stair situation resolved itself.
Not The First Time
As strange as it may be, this is not the first time this has happened.
In 2021, a tenant says she walked outside of her apartment to find her staircase gone without warning. Not only did her apartment not notify her or other tenants about any maintenance being done to the stairs, but when she contacted staff about it, they had no idea the stairs were being worked on. She says she was stuck for nearly four hours until the person working on the staircase told her she could come down via “an unfinished step.”
In 2023, a Florida man observed that the staircases had been removed from in front of the apartments of several of his neighbors. He reveals that his apartment complex eventually made makeshift walkways and left a ladder so tenants could enter their units—though not safely, he notes. Like the first tenant, another tenant found themselves stuck in their second-floor apartment in 2024. The stairs were replaced the same day.
What Do I Do If This Happens To Me?
Though this has happened before, it’s not exactly common. So you may be unsurprised to learn that there isn’t really guidance on this subject. In the above examples, it seems the tenants just waited until the stairs were repaired (the ultimate resolution of the Florida tenant’s case is unclear).
In a Reddit thread on the subject, the original poster (OP) noted that their apartment provided tenants with guest suites while their units were uninhabitable. Though OP was stuck because they did not receive one. One respondent said OP’s apartment was legally required to provide them with a hotel room.
According to Steadily, “If the unit is uninhabitable for only a few days, landlords should not charge rent for the number of days it can not be occupied. In the meantime, tenants would be responsible for their lodgings. If the problem stems from anything the landlord did or failed to do, tenants may seek hotel reimbursement immediately or via small claims court.”
Fire Hazard?
Many respondents to the TikToks in the stories we previously mentioned noted that removing the staircase was a fire hazard if it was the only means of entry or exit.
Per the National Fire Code Association, most buildings must have two exit ways. While the tenant in that story suggested she could sue her apartment for violating a fire safety code, that seems unlikely. Based on information from law firm Sullivan Papain, it would seem that in order to sue for a fire safety code violation, there has to have been an actual fire that caused injury, death, or damages. You may be able to sue for negligence. But you would still have to prove that the negligence resulted in “injury, property damage, or significant harm.”
OK, So What Next?
Of course, if this happens to you, your first concern won’t be suing your apartment complex. It’ll be getting in or out of your unit. If you didn’t receive notice about the fact that the stairs would be disappearing, you may want to call your apartment complex to find out what’s going on and how long the stairs will be out of commission. Hopefully, workers have an alternate access plan for you to get you in or out. However, this seems unlikely if they couldn’t even be bothered to alert you about the stair maintenance so you could plan around it.
So, if you’re still stuck after a call to your complex, the next best course of action, as many viewers suggested, is likely to call the fire department. If you’re stuck outside of the apartment, you’ll definitely want to call your apartment before the fire department to see when the issue will be resolved. The answer may tell you whether you want to enter your unit or get a hotel if you won’t be able to get back in for a while.
BroBible contacted Ravioli via TikTok comment and direct message.
Content shared from brobible.com.