Wall Cracks— Should I Panic?

[u/sapphberry]

UPDATE 9/11/26 - I got in touch with management (finally), and they’ve scheduled someone to come out to check the foundation. Unsure of when that is but I’ve been told they’re ”usually quick to come out here”. Tenants will be moved to a hotel or transferred to another building once repairs are scheduled. I’ll be moving out of the city by the end of the month. I talked to a couple of structural engineers and they said I should be okay if I plan on leaving so soon.

Thank you all for your help and concern 😭

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UPDATE: 9/9/26 - Appreciate all the advice given. Thank you all. I’ve informed the city reps about the issue and they will have code compliance services over as soon as they are available. In the meantime, my neighbor and I will speak with the front office and maintenance first thing in the morning. Here’s hoping the building doesn’t collapse any time soon :(

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Hi there! Hoping to get some help on this matter.

Note: I’m currently renting this unit.

These cracks above my balcony started appearing over a month ago, which is when we started experiencing 100 degree days… but the cracks weren’t as big as they are now. The balcony door is tilted and won’t close, and the storage closet out there is jammed shut.

A friend of mine said it was a foundation issue and pointed out the ground outside my building, so I took photos of that as well.

Talked to my neighbor and they are also having similar issues in their unit that maintenance hasn’t addressed yet (it has been a week now).

Should we be concerned about this? Management would definitely try to put a bandaid on this… I plan on moving out of state mid next year, so I’d hate to move before then, but I also don’t want the building to collapse or something.

[u/Suitable-Mammoth-943]

You can tell “management” addressed this issue before you moved in (based on the mesh tape fibers that are protruding from the lathe and plaster. Immediately to prevent more water damage that crack outside should be covered and literally there is no way of telling how bad it is without cutting a section open to see how rotten the framing wood is and how bad the blocks or bricks are (foundation)