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Glenwood Renter's Roof Collapses On Her Bed Weeks After She Asked For Repairs To Be Made, She Says

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A renter in Glenwood said she's lucky to be alive after the ceiling in her bedroom collapsed under a leaky roof. The worst part, she said, is that she complained about the leak weeks ago and wasn't taken seriously.

Glenwood's Building Department said the property manager and the condo association were supposed to come up with a solution when they first learned about the problem in April, but they hadn't fixed it yet.

Then Elaine Collins woke up in her bed to rain and debris falling on top of her.

The building department said the property manager needed approval form the condo association for repairs, but the board decided instead to pursue an insurance claim, which takes some time.

It was more time than the drywall had.

"I want a resolution," said Collins. "I want it done now, today, not a week from today."

In the City of Chicago it would have been fixed in 14 days, but Philip Devon, an eviction prevention specialist with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, explained that Glenwood doesn't have any requirements like that on the books.

"There is no magic scale or chart that says this is how long you have to fix these different issues," he said. "That's part of the power dynamic that really works against tenants when they're renting."

The property manager declined to comment, saying only that an insurance adjuster will be out on Wednesday.

The condo association never returned CBS 2's calls.

Collins said she expected more.

"I'm still alive," Collins said. "I know that. I'm still glad to be here, but I want to be here healthy. I want to be here where my family is not in jeopardy, and I feel like we are."

The building department said the unit is structurally safe. Collins is sleeping on her couch.

At least one other unit was damaged.

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