1. You come home after a bad day at work to an apartment full of people. The music is blaring, people are loud, and they don't look like they're leaving any time soon. You:

a) take your roommate aside and tell him how angry you are that he threw a party without okaying it through you b) go to your room, shut door and cry. c) pop in one of your CD's and join in d) go to your room, put in some earplugs and crawl into bed for night

2. You need to make a phone call to catch up with your significant other. You make call

a) in your room with your door shut b) in closet with a towel shoved underneath door (what you say is no one's business but your own) c) in living room while your roommate cooks dinner in kitchen and occasionally interjects into conversation d) when your roommate has gone to grocery store

3. There is a trash can in kitchen filled with sour food... but it's your roommate's turn to take out trash.

a) You take out trash for him... but leave dishes dirty on your night to do dishes. b) You ignore trash until your friend comes over, complains of smell and empties it for you c) You take out trash and remind your roommate that next time he forgets to do it, you'll leave it in his bed. d) You become irritated about whole situation and it reminds you of time your roommate didn't hang up his laundry and you had to do it for him, or that other time when he left oven on and you were gone all day... or that time he left that pizza in his room and it molded and stunk up house--or that other time...

4. Your roommate has flu. You

a) Keep him company, but whine about chances of getting sick yourself, and how you can't afford to miss any work b) Call your mom and ask what she recommends for a cure c) rent a couple of funny movies and buy a few boxes of tissues and some cough drops for your roommate d) stay at a friend's house until he gets better.

5. Your roommate puts together a dinner. He invited several of his friends and you. You haven't ever met his friends. You are most likely to

a) sit back and observe - interjecting only when directly asked a question b) enjoy meal but not necessarily company c) open up to his friends and have a good time chit chatting d) "eat and run"

6. You and your roommate get into an argument because he used alarm and didn't reset it, so you were an hour late for work.

Particularly scary is prospect of seepage through soil. A landlord's efforts to maintain his or her own property can be nullified by pollution from a nearby commercial facility or poorly maintained residential property. Chemicals such as lead, pesticides can seep into soil and find their way into water and air of tenants living in better-maintained properties nearby. An environmental inspection is a landlord's best defense against allegations or plummeting property values.

You've almost certainly heard of "Sick Building Syndrome," which has almost become a cliche in recent years. While this condition often is associated with office facilities, home environments are not exempt from this plague by any means. Common symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome -- including eye irritation and respiratory difficulties -- may be traced to a variety of sources in your apartment building, including your paint on your walls, a chemical used anywhere on property (such as toluene, for example), your air conditioning unit, clogged air filters in need of changing, and/or growth of bacteria spurred by high humidity, poor maintenance or both.

If you're experiencing symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome on a persistent basis, you should report them immediately to your landlord. Your lease should include a clause in reference to your landlord's obligation to see that such duties as changing air filters are performed regularly. If it doesn't contain such language, make sure you get it in writing before you sign a lease. Furthermore, tenants should be entitled to regular equipment inspection and timely maintenance.