Unfortunately I don't think there is a fix for the problem with the walls other than replacing the drywall itself and starting over again. In my experience once the paint starts peeling or falling off you can't fix it by just scraping and repainting. It will just fall off again in time. Your landlord needs to bite the bullet and make the repairs!

Having lived in several hovels in Brooklyn with equally unimpressive landlords, I might be able to help. If you are going for a straight cosmetic solution here is the thing to do. Go to a hardware store and buy a paint chipper or two - one about two inches wide, another about 4 or 5 inches wide. While you are there get a nice sized bucket of spackle.You might also want to pick up two face masks.

With the chipper, try to take off the loose paint only. Hopefully your entire wall isn't loose. Then wipe the exposed area with a damp cloth. Using the wide chipper, spread the spackle in the exposed area, feathering it out to the point where the surface paint IS sticking to the walls. You can extend the spackle one to two inches beyond the exposed area. You might have to do a few applications of this since it looks like the paint that is coming off is pretty freakin' thick!

Once the spot is level with the rest of the wall, PRIME it with KILLZ or some other stain resistant primer. This will keep the new paint from flashing. It won't take long, really, and is kinda fun as you peel back the layers. But I don't recommend trying to remove everything if your landlord is obviously a hack!

KILLZ is the way to go with primer... and elbow grease is probably the way to go with your walls. I would err on the side of caution with the paint and assume that some of it is lead-based. I have a similar rent-control situation in LA, where we literally have holes in our bathroom walls while the new tenants (paying twice as much) are getting redone apartments with hardwood floors, new fixtures, etc. Your last post inspired me to set a date to fix the bathroom myself!

I'm not sure if there is any way to fix the wall ... other than scraping out all those old layers and repaint it.
I am really happy to read about Catty's recovery progress. There's been quite some bad news about pets I read about lately ... so Catty's progress did make me feel good. Melinda at Purlwise (http://www.purlwise.com/2006/04/heartboken.html) for one is having a heartbreaking post about her cat ... if you don't mind, perhaps you can send her some comforting words.
Take care and wish you a wonderful weekend.

Yikes, the wall situation looks to be promising you lots of work ahead, you may not want to start anything until your extra busy week of study is over. So glad to hear that Catty is doing well though and looking forward to some udated knitting pics soon.

That's such a cute picutre of Catty! Too bad you don't live in Stockton, where my boyfriend just bought an apartment. For some reason, we've managed to talk the property manager into everything we've wanted. New York is tough...

Ok. I live with a carpenter, and I've had some experience with crumbly paint. You can totally fix it without replacing your sheetrock. . . .just get a paint scraper and scrape all of the old paint off. Then repaint it. Just make sure you get off all the old paint. Some of it might be a little resistant but if you put your elbows into it, you should be able to get the scraper under it.
For the moulding, you can get a sandpaper wheel for a drill (and a drill if you don't have one) and use that to sand the paint back down to the wood.
All in all, it's going to be a really messy job, but if the sheetrock is in as good condition as you think, and you plan on staying in your apartment for a long while, it will definitely be worth it.

Is this wallboard, sheetrock, or plaster? There are differences. You probably have plaster. And, are you sure that there isn't any painted-over wallpaper there?

I'm so glad Catty's doing well. :-)

And I totally believe the cigarette ash thing. I came home to a huge pile of sawdust in my bathroom sink this week. I have no idea why they did that. They weren't even working anywhere NEAR the sink.

Given the apparent age of your apartment I think it is safe to assume that you definitely have lead paint. You cannot handle that yourself, it is just too dangerous to scrape it off and let little particles of lead fly into the air. You need a licensed lead abatement company to take care of it (they will use hepa filters and special vacuum cleaners and respirators...)
You could call 311 during office hours and they can put you through to the right agency to better assist you with the specifics. Although I think the best that will happen is that they will remove the crumbly portions of paint and then paint a heavy duty primer to seal the rest in. You should read through this page it has a lot of good information.
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/environment/lead96.html#lead_paint1
Once the crumbly portions have been taken care of you will still have very uneven walls, but beautiful hardwood floors and great natural light too. I think you just have to accept the uneven walls as part of the "charm" of older NYC apartments. A crisp coat of glossy white paint on all of the of the trim and then a fresh coast of flat finish paint (hides the unevenness better)in whichever color you choose will make it all look great. If you go back to the pictures of "Lucy's love shack" from the smallest coolest apartment you can see that they had some bumpy old paint on their baseboards but it was barely noticeable because your eye was immediately drawn to the art and furniture in the room.
I'm glad catty is doing better. Good luck in your exams.

Yay for Catty! She looks like she's having a good tim ein the window - I love watching cats re-discovering the wonders of Spring every year.

No clue on the remodeling, but good luck. And wear the masks - you don't want to be breathing lead paint dust. No way.

So glad Catty is doing so well and rapidly on the come-back!

Yay, Catty!!

please listen to Laura - lead dust is VERY dangerous - it is not a do it yourself job - and your landlord has a LEGAL OBLIGATION to fix a problem that is hazardous to your health. If he refuses, you may be able to legally withhold rent and hire someone to fix the problem correctly and deduct that from the rent.

make sure to contact the appropriate agencies - you're in law school so make sure to do it by the book.

I'm a long-time reader and first-time commentator on your blog :) My dad's a builder and we've got the same problem with a wall at home. You can get stuff called stabiliser that you paint onto the plaster and it stops the plaster from disintegrating. This is the easiest solution for plaster if you don't feel like replastering! Well, easiest in theory, since I don't know just how safe it is to go scraping off lead-based paint.
Hope it works out for you!

All good advice, especially regarding the lead - it's trouble. Call 311 and see what they say. But, think really hard about how much you like your cheap/cozy apartment. I know no one who's been embroiled in a battle with a landlord that has not been miserable for many years over it. If you play the lead paint card you are likely to wind up having to move anyway and could spend years being miserable over it. How committed are you to the space/city, etc? If not sure - go for the cosmetic fix and report the crap out of him when you leave (or decide you're ready for battle)

Yeah, I'm back here to raise the lead paint issue and I notice that someone already has. Don't freak out about it (too much) but don't go licking your walls, 'kay? You guys don't have any kids, right?

We live in San Diego, CA and just moved out of a place built in 1928, mostly over issues with lead paint. I am sure laws are similar in all states over this problem, especially with the recent law suits against paint companies. We had terrible landlords and lived in a place that had been continuously leased for at least 10 years (that we could track back) and had been passed from roommate to roommate. There was a lot of peeling paint. We brought it to their attention and they said that they don't paint in the middle of a tennancy, and that they wouldn't be able to reimburse our painting costs. They weren't in compliance with the law at all, and even after replacing a disgusting piece of carpet and painting two large rooms ourselves, we realized that we couldn't continue to fix up a place that we didn't own, especially considering it was an uphill battle with the age of the place, and the lack of general and necessary upkeep.

With that said, if you like your apartment, and you expect to be there a while, I would take the approach of talking candidly with your landlord. In California we have laws about an apartment having to be in livable condition, and if it isn't, you are entitled to receive back rent for all the months the apartment isn't livable. I don't know if NY has similar laws or not, but the thing you do have on your side is a proven hazard, lead paint, and the need to have it resolved. With the paint falling off like that, you are guaranteed to have lead floating around in your apartment. You might want to point out to your landlord that your cat recently had cancer and that you are concerned for your health and the continued health of your cats. You would like to resolve the situation in an amicable way, and are willing to paint the walls yourselves, but are convinced that walls repairs are necessary and for safety's sake, it must be done by a certified professional. You can point out this is a common problem in the city, and it should be relatively easy to find a competent company with competetive rates. He probably knows you are in law school, and he'd have to be a pretty big moron to not realize the law is on your side. You don't have to threaten law suits, just make it clear you are concerned for your health (and leave the cosmetic concerns out of it)

good luck

That's a shame about your landlord.
I have stripped walls before but they were not as badly off as yours appear (sorry).
It is a LOT of work. You will be a lot happier in the end though.
I am not sure about non-harsh chemicals - I am pretty sure that paint stripper is harsh.
You could try scraping all by itself - that is a tonne of work - but again...might be worth it.

I am SO happy to hear Catty is well. How wonderful to see her playing again. What a relief for you.

A heat gun can help with paint scraping - but I'm not sure if it's safe with lead paint. There are some really good and affordable books on home DIY - I suggest you get one!

Again, I feel your pain in spite of living 70 miles north of NYC where it's supposed to the the land of great big apartments with tiny rents. I hope someone can give you some answers. I am sad to say that I think paint comes off of walls much easier than it does wooden mouldings, etc.

Glad to hear that Catty is doing so well. Friskiness is a good sign! We anxiously await her close-up!

First: don't be messing with lead paint yourself. It's too hazardous to your health and those crappy little masks they sell at hardware stores aren't worth the money. I used to have to use them at the planer mill I worked at and believe me, I saw dust on my face and in my nose even with them on. Call a pro. They have the properly filtred face masks that are fitted to the face wearing them. They cost a bloody fortune too!
Second: If you do any work yourself, you are liable for any damages that may result. A lot of things look really easy, but, there are a lot of crappy repair people, who are improperly trained for the job they are doing. Sort of like the average joe/josephine trying to DIY. Your landlord sounds like a bit of a prick and if he really wanted to, he could say that any work you did yourself was no good and he could force you to pay for repairs after you move out. Very profitable, sticking former tenants with the bill for a snazzy new apartment for him to rent out at a higher price!!
I'd pull the hazardous to your health bit. I'd even take it a step further and pay for a building inspector to come in and give you a bad review so that you have documented proof of necessary repairs. It might cost you anywhere from two hundred to four hundred dollars, but money well spent if it gets your place done. Phone your city hall for a list of licensed inspectors.
Good luck!
I'm so happy to see Catty on the go!

Careful with the lead paint.

And though people seem to be really in on your landlord, you might want to bring it up to him anyway. If you do it in a non-confrontational manner, the landlord might even help you get someone certified in lead paint removal. Most landlord's don't want lawsuits and can see that the health risk invoved vs. the cost of fixing the lead paint problem means that fixing the lead paint would be much more cost effective for them in the long run. Also, you can remind them that it will be easier, once you move out, to rent a lead paint free apartment. Frame it in a way that makes it seem like it's for their own benefit and BADA-BING!

Good luck!

I'm working on painting my house right now (bit by bit), although I don't have wall issues like you. (so sorry and good luck!)

A book that I've found very helpful is "Painting Secrets" by Brian Santos http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F7BPFW/sr=1-1/qid=1147199561/ref=sr_1_1/104-3328104-7507955?%5Fencoding=UTF8 - and if I remember correctly there's something in the book about a home lead-paint tester that you can get at hardware/home improvement stores. I don't remember the specifics and I don't have the book handy, but it might be worth looking into (especially if you just borrow the book from the library)

And I agree with the others on the lead paint thing - be careful - better safe than sorry!

Would you consider covering your walls in fabric? It might be simpler/safer to seal the cracked old paint and staple gun fabric to the wall on top. You can cover the staples by glueing trim to the fabric. When you move you just pry the fabric off.

Great to hear that Catty is okay!