r/Renters

my roommates and i are savannah locals and students and we live in a property that was acquired by Amicus property management last summer. the first thing they did was raise the rent, and we can’t resign the lease at the end of the summer because they are raising it again, this time by $500. The upstairs unit is increasing by $1,000. the property manager Beth has entered our apartment before without giving us notice. They consistently refuse to give us 24 hour notice before any entry, as the lease states. Last night they tried to schedule a tour for 10:30am today without giving us 24 hours notice so we told them no. This morning at 10:30 i woke up to the door being unlocked and a tour being brought in. They do not alert you when they are coming. Immediately after, she tried to enter the unit across the street unannounced before a neighbor stopped her. This is just one of many problems. Don’t rent from amicus.

edit: she left the door unlocked when she left

My credit is pretty good for a 26-year-old with student loans (720s). I know the whole system is bullshit, but I’m just trying to live. Transunion has a thing a potential landlord used called a ResidentScore that rated me at…660. Lower than he’d be willing to rent to me.

There is no info that I can find online about how to raise this “ResidentScore”. I assume you can raise it by being a good tenant…which I am! I’ve never been evicted or late on rent. I can’t rent on my own anyway because my ResidentScore is too low so I need co-signers and guarantors.

What the fuck kind of landlord bullshit is this? Everything I’m looking at about it online says that it “predicts more evictions” but I’ve literally never been evicted or done anything crazy debt-wise before?? It’s not even clear how this is calculated???

How is this allowed??

Edit: I’m looking at the report now and one of the dings I got is that my SSN was issued after 2011. Yes…I immigrated to this country and received my SSN when I got my permanent residency in the mid-2010s. Somehow that makes me a worse potential tenant. 🙃

I have had this issue ever since a polar vortex came through our area this past January. despite taking appropriate measures to avoid cold damage to my pipes and plumbing (such as setting the thermostat to 68 degrees and keeping all taps running at a drip) I had to have my 13+ year old faucets in the bathroom replaced. idk why these specifically died on me, but they did. I haven’t found any further damage and no water stains or further leaky faucets. the biggest issue is a pipe in the wall between my bedroom and bathroom. this wall has the drain pipe for one or both apartments above me. ever since this hard freeze, the pipe has been making a banging noises akin to a woodpecker in the wall whenever upstairs plumbing is used. I contacted the maintenance crew and main office concerning this issue. let’s just say four months later, I have a poorly patched hole in my wall, sounds that could rival John Bonham, and patronizing faculty at my complex who won’t pursue the issue any further. this problem is waking me up at night, shaking my wall violently, and the worst part is no one can give me an answer as to why this is or how to remedy it. I want this resolved while it’s not causing immediate damage.

the kicker is that I was told that the complex has a contracted plumber that comes for plumbing-specific complications that are outside the scope of our facilities maintenance crew. it has been a month since I was told that this contracted plumber would be looking at the offending pipe. in the mean time, theres been a revolving door of condescending maintenance workers downplaying the risk of not resolving this and playing into my perceived lack knowledge of this topic due to being female. all of it has become increasingly toxic.

to preface: this is the best college-catered apartment complex around. it’s in a safe area with amazing amenities. for me, location and safety is highly important and I do really adore my complex, just not the people who run it. there have been so many other issues that thankfully every other tenant has been on them about, but now I’m fighting to get this pipe fixed before it becomes a larger issue all on my own.

my next step is understanding what I can do about this. I am not being provided answers or solutions to this issue. do I let this pipe disrupt my sleep, my peace, my studying, and play a waiting game thinking it could burst all while being told it’s fine? or is there further action I can take? there is now more than 4 months of paper trail about this issue. I do have renters insurance as well, so if this pipe does burst and ruin my personal belongings the complex will have to cover the costs due to recorded negligence. it’s a fine line I'm walking here but any input would be greatly appreciated.

I moved in about a year ago and the apartment came with a through the wall air conditioner. The filter has not been changed since I moved in and probably not for a while before that.

A month ago I asked my landlord to make a few repairs and this was the most important one. He has since told me twice that he's going to have his maintenance guy take care of it but he hasn't and it's going to be in the mid 80s next week. The AC is high enough up that I can't safely get to it.

Whose responsibility is this? It's my understanding that since the unit came with the apartment, it's something he needs to take care of.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on a lease situation and whether I’m still legally responsible.

Back in October, I signed a lease on my own because my roommate wasn’t sure yet if she wanted to be on it. Later on, she decided she wanted to take over the lease so she could live there with her boyfriend.

She emailed the leasing agent and CC’d me. The leasing agent responded saying that I needed to submit a written request to rescind/transfer the lease to her. I sent that written request right away, confirming I would no longer be moving forward and that she would be taking over. I also ended my email with something like “please let me know if you need anything else from me.”

After that, I never heard back from them at all. No follow-up, no additional steps, nothing. So I assumed everything was handled and that I was no longer responsible.

Now, months later, the leasing office is saying:

• The lease never switched out of my name

• They claim I never followed up (even though I did exactly what they asked)

• They’re saying the transfer didn’t go through because my roommate’s boyfriend wasn’t approved

The issue is:

• They NEVER told me that approval of her boyfriend was required

• They NEVER followed up with me after I submitted my written request

• I clearly asked if anything else was needed from me

• I’ve been operating under the assumption for months that I gave up the lease

We are also dealing with the exact same leasing agent this entire time, and this is the first I’m hearing about any approval requirement.

So now I’m confused am I still legally responsible for the lease even though I followed their instructions and they didn’t communicate anything further?

Has anyone dealt with something like this or know how this typically works?

Thanks in advance!

I (29f) am moving into a rental house this weekend. I got access today and went to just check and make sure the utilities were all set up. I have a dog and this is a dog friendly property. There is a property management company that I go through for all my rental needs.

While I was outside the neighbors (miniature?) pit-bull mix was aggressively barking at my dog and I. There is a small old metal fence that looks to be Bent and broken In places. Suddenly the dog charged through an open spot in the fence and went after my dog. I was able to get between them and the dog backed down. I put my dog inside and then the dog charged me and tried to bite me. I had to physically run away and kick at the dog. The dog then backed off and just stood 20 feet away from me and barked aggressively.

I really need some advice on what to do. I’m not even moved in and I’m already afraid for the safety of myself and my dog. I can’t let my dog outside knowing there’s a good chance she’ll get hurt or killed by this other dog.

I called the property management company and the lady that answered the phone told me to call the police or animal control. I asked to speak with my specific property manager but he happened to be on a call and never called me back.

I don’t want to start my year in this neighborhood by calling the police on my neighbor or getting their dog taken away. I was going to go talk to them directly but was afraid their dog would try to attack me again.

Is there any legal obligation the property management company has to make sure I have a safe yard? Can I request/force Them to fence my yard? I literally can’t live in this house if I can’t use the yard. I have already sunk so much energy and money into moving here and I really love the house. Any advice helps.

My partner and I have been renting the same apartment for the last 5 years. We are both on the lease, and are due to renew.

For some reason the property management company has only sent the lease to my partner, and say that they will send it to me for review once he has already signed it. I have requested repeatedly that they send it to both of us so we can review it independently before deciding to sign, which they have so far declined.

I’ve discussed it with my partner, but he hasn’t been able to send it to me- the link seems to expire once it’s been opened by one person (admittedly could be user error). It sounds like it’s quite different than our past leases (now holds us responsible for all utilities, rent increase, pet fee), and I suspect they’re doing it this way because historically I am the one to push back while my partner is more agreeable, but maybe I’m being cynical.

Has anyone run into this? It seems illegal to withhold the new lease from me until he’s signed it.

Yesterday at 8pm my apartment complex sent out an email saying they would be painting the trim of the doors. Today at around 8am they had already started and begun unlocking people’s doors.

Where I mostly need advice is that one of the people who works the desk at our complex unlocked my friends door and stepped inside. She was naked (lives in a studio so it was her bed) and had not seen the email before hand. I think this is a huge invasion of privacy - even if she had seen the email they said it would be “just a crack” but all the doors were wide open for animals to get out as well. I know that CA required 24 hour notice to enter - but does just opening the door count? And since he stepped inside, is that grounds for something since he now entered?

I want her to at least write an email and have it as a paper trail for now but I’m unsure exactly what she should add and if I’m correct in saying that this did not follow the 24 hour notice that typically has to be given.

I'm breaking up with my boyfriend who I live with. Our lease doesn't end until September. He will need to move-out. Between the two of us I am the only one that can comfortably afford our current place on my own. Ideally I'd like for him move out and get his own place as soon as possible, and I continue to pay the rent on own until I can sign the new lease as a sole occupant. This seems like the simplest course of action for everyone. Would there be any conflict with his name still being one the lease? Like does it hinder his ability to sign with another place? I'm just trying to work out the logistics. Does he have to officially break out of current lease?

So I make $2,997 in net pay after taxes. The place I'm looking at is 1,300 a month, has a flat utility fee of $230, and an internet fee (non negotiable) of $50. After my insurance and everything else, it would leave me with $1,200 to live with. Am I high, or is this fairly reasonable? My work is a bike ride away and I'm incredibly frugal as is. Please give me your advice!

Husband and I have been renting a basement for a few months from the family that lives upstairs. Home constructed around 2017-18. All the flooring in the basement is "wood" laminate and we started to notice in one of the bedrooms there are a TON of places with gapping between laminate planks and gapping between the wall and flooring. One area is bubbling/cracking now too. Just found out recently, the landlord himself put the flooring in himself (not a professional :/). They have a dehumidifier running in the room because they are aware of some moisture issues and the room smells musty if we leave the door closed. I've already starting talking to them about the issue.

Are they going to have to replace the flooring of the whole basement to thoroughly fix this? I've read online that laminate is a BAD decision for basements, especially without proper preparation to prevent these exact moisture issues. It's just frustrating, we love everything else about where we live. How should we proceed to make sure the landlords do something about it?

My income has decreased the beginning of the year. It is time for my recertification, and I gave my landlord my paystub’s with my new amount. I was at $24.47 an hour and now I am at $22 an hour. I was in the 50% AMI. Will or could my AMI percentage change during my recertification process and therefore my rent decrease? Im nervous because now my bi-weekly income is less than my rent.

I'm thinking: ways to look up rental reviews (if there is such a thing), key laws and who to contact for support, financial aid, maybe checklists to see if a rental is suspicious idk.

In general, just stuff that would help a renter handle tough situations in the NJ market.

If it's ok to ask :)

I'm just very lost and thought it would be a good collection of tools for others.

I toured a place this week in Manhattan and the broker basically said the rent is firm because there’s already a lot of interest

I didn’t push back at all because I had no idea what to even say in that situation

but tbh I’m wondering if I just left money on the table by not trying to negotiate

Has anyone pushed back on something like that recently and gotten anywhere? Orr forget it with the competition?

hi, I need legal advice about a landlord situation. I’ve been spiraling and trying to find out what’d be the next best action here.

In 2022, I signed a lease guaranty for a friend in LA. but I never lived there physically. he then renewed the lease in 2023 and 2024, my name was added as a co-resident without my consent.

I received the DocuSign emails but never signed them, yet both leases show my signature completed. I then found that both leases have the exact same DocuSign signature ID and IP address, which suggests my signature was reused without my consent.

my friend fled the country, I called the apartment & found out that the balance is at $10k. I have NEVER been contacted by the apartment regarding this.

my biggest worry would be they send this to collections and it’ll ruin my good credit. i’ve built this with blood and tears… also i did run my credit reports and they all show as clean atm. I need to know if I'm liable and what my rights are. currently trying to reach out his family members to see if they can pay the balance owed to keep my name clean.

THANKS SO MUCH:,) im literally spiraling…

Location: San Diego County. I feel hopeless & like I'm being taken advantage of. We pay a pretty insane rent rate & can't get any help with issues around the house.

The issues (all reported in writing but never got a response)

• No heat for weeks: Furnace appears to be from 1953. Heard hissing when we tried to turn on the gas and shut it off immediately. HVAC tech inspected it and said it likely needs full replacement for safety reasons. House was 59°F in the mornings for about a month until it got repaired by a completely different HVAC company. Not sure what happened to the company who recommended it get replaced
• Active termite infestation in the structure. Landlord wants to wait to tent after we move out in October.
• Killing several spiders a day with black widow + slug infestation outside. House is not taken care of/unsealed. Slugs constantly coming into the house & they carry lungworm - parasite that can impact our dog. Constantly getting slugs stuck to us walking barefoot in the kitchen at night. They told us they'll give us a kit so we can spray outside ourselves.
  • We did notice that they seem to be crawling through the baseboard of the kitchen island so we worry theres moisture. The baseboard is peeling and they told us that its our responsibility to fix.
  • Dog got extremely sick with an insane vet bill & keeps getting diarrhea due to licking slugs off feet - we try to get them all but they're everywhere
• Two water leaks (shower and toilet) each took ~a month to repair and each resulted in $500+ water bills. Plumber confirmed the toilet was known to need replacement before we moved in but was skipped due to cost.
• Unpermitted bathroom renovations, per a maintenance worker - concerning given the plumbing issues.
• Misrepresentation at signing - agent told us the house had AC. It does not. We texted the night of move in confused saying we thought it had AC.
• Mandatory "renters benefit package" fee charged since move-in for services we've never used
• Other issues Dishwasher took six weeks to replace and was replaced with a significantly downgraded unit. Garage spring snapped trapping our vehicle - repair tech said he had previously recommended replacement and owners declined. Gas water heater installed in 2009 and past its reasonable service life.

Where we are: We sent a detailed written notice covering all of this back in January but now the termite/spider infestation has me at my wits end.

For any kind of maintenance request, the contact at the management company has asked us not to send it through the portal.. they've said that the owner is picky and wants to use their own contractors.

I genuinely feel like I'm being scammed with this rent... I don't know what to do. Everytime we send a complaint he tries to get us on the phone to talk it through and deflects the responsibility over to us. Exhausted but feel like we have no case/rights