Landlord Had Workers Rip Out Our Elevated Walkway, Making It So We Can Not Enter/exit Our Apartment Without Any Notice (ca)

Location: California

Background: We have lived in this apartment for about 8 months and have no really had any issues. The apartment is on the second floor and we need to use an elevated walkway (think of a hallway but outside and accessed via stairs) to enter/exit the apartment. In October, the landlord sent a property wide email that says they will be having workers cleaning/painting our patios/balconies. The email does not give an exact date, but does say that they will be working in one building at a time. The notice asks that we move our furniture off of our patios/balconies so they don’t get dusty or impede the work.

On 11/23/2025, the landlord called us and asked that we move our furniture in preparation for the work, which we did. However, my partner works from home and informed me that the workers were not cleaning/painting any patios or balconies, but were instead ripping out the walkway that we use to enter/exit our apartment, leaving only the beams in place. We were never notified that this was going to be done and my partner was essentially trapped inside the apartment until they finished for the day, at which point they slapped some pieces of plywood onto the beams to allow people to walk.

The landlord has been dodging my emails and when called, just says “oh I’m so sorry, I’ll talk to the workers” and nothing ever changes. They are out there cussing, yelling, and making a whole lot of noise when we were under the impression this was just for painting/cleaning. My concern is that if there was a fire, my partner would be trapped inside the apartment since the only ways out are to jump off the balcony or carefully walk on the beams (which are about 2 inches wide). There is no way I have any faith that the workers will quickly lay down the plywood if there is a fire.

I have already reported this to the fire marshall and the city, but I feel that they aren’t going to do much. What is my recourse in this situation? We are unable to enter/exit the apartment between 9AM-4PM and I see this as a massive liability. I see no reason in paying the full rent if we can’t even enjoy the apartment during certain times of the day.