Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/08/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In May of 2022, I asked to be transferred into a larger apartment. I was informed that I needed to remain consistent with my rental payments for six months to be eligible which would be November 2022. In November I was informed that there was nothing available but would get the next one. In December of 2022, I began having various issues with my neighbors ranging from fights where the police had to be called numerous times or noise violations. Most recently things have gotten worse as I have had an unauthorized animal jump on me twice and been yelled at by someone who was visiting the neighbors. My biggest issue is the safety of myself and daughter as there appears to be drug activity as there have been various people showing up and entering their apartment. I have made numerous complaints to the landlord and was told to be patient because they were working on it. Originally my transfer was due to needing a larger apartment but as the issues arose, my transfer became more dire. Well in February 2023 I asked to be transferred again due to the mitigating circumstances and this time I was informed that I no longer could be transferred because I had been late on my rent due to financial hardship in addition to now being told that I would have to pay full market value, which I was never told before. I have recently reached out to the property owner to seek a transfer and was told that I did not need to be because my neighbors would soon be leaving. Again me wanting to transfer had nothing to do with my neighbors originally but due to the issues, I felt that this should be a special case and I could be granted to move. It appears to me that they never have any intention of transferring me and that they wanted full market value instead. Me transferring into a larger apartment would have increased my rent at the time by $150 however now rent has went up and paying full market would make my rent more than the original amount.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/01/2023

  To:  The Better Business Bureau
  From:  *************************, Regional Manager
  Re:  ************************* - *************************************************************************
  

  To whom it may concern,
  

  I am replying in regard to the complaint you received by one of our residents, **************************  ******************** currently lives at our community ********** Apartments. We purchased this property in June of 2020 during the height of Covid 19.  Many of our residents, including *************************, received rental assistance from the state due to Covid related issues.  I spoke with *************************, the Community Manager of ********** who would have spoken to ******************** during the times ******************** stated she came by the office.  **************** states that she does not recall conversations based on transferring, but she did remember having her mention her neighbors and the problems they were causing.  If ******************** had spoken to someone else in the front office, she was unaware.  I spoke to ******************** by email last month about her problem neighbors and told her that we had done everything we could legally do, we were just waiting for the eviction process which would be any day.  ************************ problem neighbors were evicted on April 21, 2023.
  
  As a management company we do need to have residents, who have struggled with their rent in the past, to be consistent with paying their rent on time for at least 6 months.  Unfortunately, ******************** has not been consistent in paying her rent since we took over the property in 2020.  I have attached her ledger for your reference.  Since purchasing the property in 2020, when a unit vacates, we are renovating them, which averages approximately $5,000-$8,000 or more in costs.  We have had to increase our rents due to these incurred costs associated with the renovations and our policy is to charge the current rent for the new apartment whenever a resident chooses to transfer.  We cannot charge less due to having to stay within fair housing regulations.

  ******************** renewed and signed her new lease on March 17, 2023 in the amount of $1638 per month.  The current rent of her unit type is $1699.  She was late in January and February of this year.  If ******************** can remain consistent in paying her rent on time, I have no problem revisiting her account in August and transferring her at that time.  She will need to pay whatever the market rent for her unit is at that time.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/05/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find it insulting. As only some of what was mentioned is true however the fact that my finances due to financial hardship has been brought into this is tacky and unprofessional. Yes I was late and received help, is that not what I was supposed to do; as you were paid, extra I might add so lets not forget that part. This extra money that was received allowed for me to be and remain consistent until the end of the year; the transfer should have occurred in September/October but it didn't.

  I spoke to several people in that office, once to the previous manager and twice to ************************* but it appears that there has been a lapse of memory. ****** did not remember a lot of things; on several occasions when I complained about my neighbors, she was informed about a dog. Every time that I informed her of a new complaint and I mentioned the dog, she would state that she was unaware. So I am not surprised by this.  My problem with all of this was that once I became current in my rent, which was six months (as she stated that I needed to be consistent); I was still not able to transfer, as there always was a reason to not transfer me. The fact that I was quoted one price for rent then when I went back to inquire about the transfer it changed. Now I can understand due to renovations that the price changed however maybe staff should be more trained or equipped at providing the correct information because it was not until I inquired about the transfer for the third time and prior to signing my lease that I was informed about the change in prices.

  I am not going to go back and forth with this company as I know it will not solve anything. Yes I did sign a new lease but with hesitancy. It is ashamed that as a company; you had tenants living here that were a nuisance and at times had concerning behaviors, questionable people in their home, unregistered pets and this company only course of action was to sit and wait. It took 3-4 months just to get rid of these people, why is that acceptable? Why should I have been fearful to walk into my residence? Why did I have to continually call the police? Why did I need a security escort? The safety of myself, my daughter and guest should have been a reasonable request to transfer but I forgot this is about me not paying my rent on time.  At the time of the incident I was current in my rent and remained to be as of this date. It would be nice if this company took some accountability for their residences safety, which in my case seems to be a lot of attempting to make me look bad. There will be no need to look to transfer me in the future as when this lease expires, I will be moving. I prefer to live somewhere where the landlords and company take accountability for what they say and do instead of victim blaming. Nowhere in this response did I hear that this company or staff was sorry for what I had to endure for months, yet let's continue to talk about my late rent. A simple apology goes a long way.

  The discussions that I had with staff  prior to and during these renovations; no one mentioned anything about the increase in rent. As when I initially asked to be transferred to a 2 bedroom 2 bath; the rent was then $1450 I believe so yes to inquire again about transferring the rent was now $1800+, I was taken a back and frustrated. Regardless of the transfer, this company failed me as a tenant and whether I paid my rent on time should have nothing to do with my safety and peace of mind; is that not what people pay for? Is to live somewhere comfortably without fear or worry.

  Here is a free tip, why not invest in full security to prevent issues like this from occurring. Instead of having security there temporarily and not on a daily basis. After all if you have money to invest in renovations, would it not be smart to invest in the safety of your tenets?

  
  Regards,
  
  *************************