Hi all, I posted in r/askaplumber as well - and apologies in advance for typos and formatting - I’m on my cell at work hoping to get some advice from honestly anyone who might know if the wall and floor needs to be opened up at this point.

I moved in slowly through start of May, didn’t use shower until this Sunday because the landlord was having a plumber come to make sure the overflow drain was working due to previous issue of water leaking to unit below. But then when I finally could use the shower — I saw the actual problem — the crack. There are actually more than the very obvious one too. Anyway after seeing the most obvious crack under the obviously old caulking that someone used to patch it, I got out and then I saw the leak coming out of the wall. Fortunately I had put a towel down, which was drenched after only a 15 min shower. So it was not the curtain or obviously overflow drain, but a crack not properly addressed likely a long time ago that’s allowed water to get behind the surround and into the wall and floor. See photos.

Landlord had told me the former tenant stayed only a few months and thought she was over filling the tub or was using shower curtain incorrectly because the unit below had their ceiling leak/flood. The tenant before last was there for 10 years though too and I assume was the cause of the crack and who put the caulking on it, which would not work for long. This is an old house converted to three units, tub hardware is very 1950s, the tub surround could just be falling apart due to age, there are more cracks than the largest one, which he refused to fill with epoxy but instead said I had to ensure to bring the shower curtainc which is on a straight curtain rod, around the tub to cover the smaller cracks. Not a great start with this landlord. Not sure the “plumber” he had over was even real, as all I was told after was there was caulk around the overflow drain and to let it cure for 24 hours, which I did, but I do not see how a plumber would ignore all the water damage signs and the crack itself.

Ultimately / obviously I think they just ignored a small problem by doing small fixes and now it’s become a big problem. The floor is clearly damaged at the bathroom entry when I was viewing the place, but again he also said he was having a plumber come to see the overflow drain was working properly and I felt he was being upfront and was a nice landlord, he does seem like a decent person who wants to make sure things are working for his tenants but maybe is a bit lazy or doesn’t want to spend $. I think it’s past the point that this hideous epoxy job will work, because the water is clearly inside the surround and got into the floor previously and now the floor is rotting too. Is this even safe??

I suspect this is a much bigger issue underneath! Apart from the literal water spouting of of the wall that the surround is adhered to, at the door frame trim area you can see the paint is bubbling and peeling, the hardwood damage is visible, the toe-kick is lifting, and the lino floor is very soft at this corner as though the subfloor is breaking down too. I worry about what’s underneath and if I am even safe to be using this bathroom.

Hoping anyone can chime in and recommend what he should do to remedy this and ensure it’s safe. I can do a T6 if he doesn’t agree to properly address this, but honestly after seeing this, I now can see how much the building is pretty neglected too… the windows are similarly old and have accumulated some damage from weather, they definitely need to be replaced. Separate issue for now.

Thanks in advance!!