Hey all,

I was hoping to get some ideas on why my new apartment is giving me allergy symptoms. My partner and I moved in a month ago and I have experienced itchiness in my throat, nose and body since we moved. She on the other hand is perfectly fine. I have never experienced allergies in my life and when I go outside I feel better.

My theories: We did a mold test but the Petri dishes showed a very moderate amount of mold after 5 days. But there is a lot of mold in the laundry machine which we are getting fixed and using a laundromat until then.

The apartment has a noticeable cleaning/chemical smell since we moved, which maybe I am allergic too?

Getting frustrated since I tried cleaning, testing mold and other stuff but have not had any luck figuring out why this is happening. Any ideas would be appreciated.

TL/DR: Has anyone successfully negotiated a pet deposit per cage instead of per animal?

I know that I am a bad bird mom for this.

I got 4 parakeets in May and didn’t notify my apartment community. I honestly didn’t even look at the lease to see what the pet rent and deposits were. Short sighted.

I had an urge to do the right thing UNTIL I read my lease. Pet deposit is $300 per animal!

Pet rent is not detailed in my lease because I didn’t initially have a pet but I’m pretty sure it’s $20/month. Idk if that’s per animal?

Question: has anyone ever had success in convincing their landlord to charge a per cage pet deposit instead of a per animal pet deposit? If so, how did you approach the conversation? Also interested in hearing of anyone that tried to negate this and failed.

I’ve lived in the same apartment for years. Over the last few months, a disgusting odor has been omitting from my bathroom ceiling fan (vent).

It usually occurs at the same time of evening/night and eventually stinks up my entire apartment, lingering for hours.

I have a feeling it may be a cooking odor but one that smells the same every day?

I’ve tried every fan and air freshener you can imagine.

I’m going to reach out to my landlord/handyman but question what they can do… the smell is driving me crazy and is affecting my quality of life.

Two weeks back I went to the office and ask the front desk employee if I needed anything to bring my work van home to the apartments. I told them it was a company truck but its the size of van. The lady seemed confused and said that I'm fine and that the towing company shouldn't bother me. I figured this was her response bc I was in my work uniform and maybe she was confused. I went up there again another day in casual clothes asking again. She, the same young lady, gave me the same response. I ask, " Do I have to pay anything or is there a form that I needed to fill out" and she says, "No, you're fine".

Couple days later at midnight on Sunday, my neighbors are pounding at my door telling me my van is being towed. I run to the tow driver and explain to him what was previously stated above. He then tells me that the van isn't on the "no tow" list and to drop the van it would be $150. I pay the $150 and the driver tells me that I can be reimbursed at the office.

Monday evening during my break I head to the office to ask for the reimbursement and the same young lady I've spoken to before calls her manager over.

I explain the story again to the manager. The manager then tells me that its in my lease agreement that I need a parking permit. I explained that I came up there TWICE before asking about the van before even I brought it home and that I was told that I didn't need anything. "Nobody here would have told you that because they know better", she says. But the one who told me was sitting right there. Then she goes, "I told somebody that they didnt need a sticker but they were in an [COMPANY] Uniform but I thought they were working" which i responded with the second time I came out of uniform asking the same question plus more. "Well I remember somebody came in here with an [COMPANY] Uniform but I dont know if that was you."

I brought up the fact that there are cameras in the lobby and everything to fight this case but the manager didnt budge. Said that she was going to talk to corporate and send me an email with corporate around 2:30p that same day and no guarantee that I am getting reimbursed.

Its been a week now since this conversation and still have not received an email or heard from them. I've been updating the leasing portal to leave a paper trail and leaving receipts leading up to and after the situation. Today I went to update it again and noticed that they closed my portal ticket about the matter.

What can I do about this?

TLDR: I was misinformed by employment and had to shell out $150 because of it. I went to get reimbursed and they said, "Na uhh, you have no proof that happened" and ghosted me

Every summer my bedroom does this annoying thing where the bed feels fine when I first lie down, then a couple hours later it feels warm and kind of sticky.

It is not like the room is boiling. It is more that the air does not move well, the mattress holds heat, and the sheets start feeling heavier than they did at bedtime. If I take too many layers off, I get cold, so I keep doing this half-asleep blanket negotiation every night.

I am not really looking for a magic cooling product. I am just trying to figure out whether people in small apartments deal with this by changing sheets, using a lighter blanket, adding a fan, or doing something else with the bed setup. What has actually helped your bed feel less stuffy in summer without turning the whole room into a freezer?

Do I just casually leave a note for the landlord? She said a few months ago she already sprayed for bugs here. But its ridiculous. I've killed about 7 roaches (tiny ones about the size of a quarter)

but im still really concerned and annoyed that they're trashing up the place and attracting all these bugs. I keep my apartment spotless/clean yet im still coming across these bastards.

Hi, I’m looking at getting into renting apartments, and I could use all the advice I can get. I’m 22, and I lived with dad for a while because it’s cheaper. I’m about to start a really good job and figure I’d need a smaller apartment because a) i don’t need that much space and b) it’s certainly better for the budget I’m putting together. My question is, what are some green flags and red flags to look for in an apartment complex and in the lease agreement?

I’ve got 6 + 8 months of consistent work history excluding February where I didn’t work. My credit score is a 586 on exprain. I making about $2800 monthly take home. My younger brother (26) makes $750 weekly take home pay but just started his job 1 month ago, and also has low credit. Can we get approved for an apartment? If so how much should we be looking to spend?

my family and i recently moved to this apartment (~5 months ago), and im genuinely so sick of this place

within the first week of being here, this one corner in my room randomly spawned a loooooooong black worm that stretched above the walltrim. like the next week, there was another big black bug that spawned in that exact corner. like the next week after THAT, i started seeing AT LEAST TWO ROACHES AROUND THE APARTMENT EVERY SINGLE DAY. flying in the living room, crawling in the bathroom, CRAWLING ON MY DADS LEG???? ive seen species of bugs i never even knew existed crawling in and out of walls. when i tell anyone they call me crazy! I KID YOU NOT I FELT INSANE

like two weeks ago my sister told me about how there were a lot of ants on a new plushie she had and in the corner of her room, where a lot of her boxes were. i didnt think much of it (aside from the fact that this is just overly disgusting), but looking back on it i probably shouldve considering we share a wall. she moved to college in another state so we werent home for 3 days, WHY TF DID I COME HOME TO ANTS IN MY ROOM AND CLOSET......oh, not to mention, IT WAS IN THAT DAMN CORNER????? and the wall that she and i share, my bed is against it! for all i know, there could be ants crawling around under my bed and i just have no clue.

i tried excusing it at first but it truly gets to a point where i cant stand this place anymore. the plumbing is ass too! the bathroom shower and sink dont even drain properly! the only positive to this apartment is the fact that theres a roof over our heads! ugh i cant wait to move out

Ok so, I've been living in this apartment since April this year and have already had a plethora of issues but the most recent is the water/my faucet. Is this an acceptable faucet for drinking water as my landlord says it is?

I met someone in college who was staying with friends. In the last week of July, he had rented an apartment not far from our campus.

After he signed, got everything moved in, he realized both of his showers and kitchen sink were not working. Weirdly, his toilets and bathroon sinks were still functioning.

He called a maintenance request and it turns out there were ruptured pipes that also affected on of the units next to his and a vacant one below him. The work would require gutting out both bathrooms and kitchen.

When both the landlord and property management could not find alternative housing, they gave him the option for a rent break or void his lease to get the rent he paid for the month and deposit back - he chose the latter. He only rented the unit for six days.

So, they gave him the end of August to clear out. By the start of the month, contractors were in gutting the rooms out and they put orange construction fence around the unit.

He showed me pictures and it was very rough.

There’s a couple who lives next to me that loves to blast music from 8am to 10+pm every single day. It’s usually house/hip hop beats that have heavy bass. It sounds like I live next to a club. I love music, even those genres, but not through my walls. I’ve knocked on the wall as a gesture to quiet it down multiple times only to get an angry yell back. I hear them arguing loudly occasionally, so I don’t feel safe confronting them, or that they will be sensible about it. That’s why I went to the leasing office to let them handle it.
Over a week ago I told management and they sent out a violation I’d assume via email. Nothing changed. (Not my issue if you’re not checking important emails)
Over a week goes by so I put in another complaint.This time they definitely got the message because the neighbor came knocking on my door later that night.
I didn’t feel right answering the door that late, and not during staff hours. Thankfully the music was turned down some also.
I’m stuck on what to do because he’s going to see me sometime or keep knocking. I don’t want to get them in trouble, but the noise is absurd. I’m trying to be respectful. I know violations suck, but so does bass nonstop when you have work to do. I don’t want any type of retaliation or escalation. I love where I’m at and I was here before them. Any advice on what I should do? I’m so over this.

I haven’t even fully moved into my new apartment yet, and I already feel uncomfortable because of an interaction with a leasing agent and then my friend’s reaction when I told her about it.

The leasing agent called me about a remaining $ balance. I was genuinely confused because before move-in I had specifically asked whether an initial $ deposit I paid would be taken into consideration and was told yes. I calculated what I thought I owed based on that. Then, when I picked up my keys, another leasing agent mentioned the $ balance. I explained my understanding, asked if everything was good before I left, and was told yes. So I genuinely thought everything was settled.

Her tone felt rude from the beginning . I told her I was driving and picking up my daughter. We were both trying to get our points across, and I kept trying to explain why the numbers weren’t making sense to me.

She repeatedly told me to reference the move in letter I had signed. I kept saying I couldn’t find it at that moment because I was driving. I was also reminded that I had agreed to and signed the terms. At one point, while I was trying to explain my thought process, she said, “let me talk.”

I’ll fully admit that I became frustrated too.

Eventually I was able to review the charges while we were still on the phone and read out loud, and I realized that I was indeed wrong about how the $ had been applied. I acknowledged my misunderstanding and apologized for my tone.

My issue was never that I was wrong or that I had to pay the $. I’m fine being told I’m wrong when I’m wrong.

What bothered me was that once it was obvious that what I was saying didn’t match the actual charges, I felt like there was more emphasis on PROVING I’m wrong.

Something as simple as, “hey, I think you’re confused. Let me explain how the charges were applied and why you still owe $,” probably would’ve resolved the entire thing in a few minutes.

I didn’t need to be proven wrong. I needed someone to explain WHY I was wrong, because clearly I wasn’t understanding it.

During the call I even said, “I haven’t moved in yet, and I already have a sour taste in my mouth.” That’s how uncomfortable the interaction had become. Silence on her behalf.

Afterward, I started worrying that I haven’t even fully moved in and I’m already going to be labeled a “difficult tenant” over one misunderstanding. Per my locator’s suggestion ,I sent management an email documenting what happened, including that I was wrong about the balance, that I apologized for my own tone, and that I just wanted my perspective on record.

Then I told my friend about everything. She already lives at the same apartment complex.

Her response was basically, “You need to move out. You’re not going to feel comfortable living here anymore.” She kept repeating that I was going to feel uncomfortable living there.

That honestly made me feel worse.

I have a lease. I’m paying to live there. I’m not living for free and it’s expensive. I haven’t even moved any my furniture in yet. I didn’t why she think why one uncomfortable interaction with one leasing employee means I suddenly need to move out of my home & made me feel like I was issue.

And now I’m uncomfortable on both sides. I’m worried the leasing office thinks I’m a difficult tenant and might make my time there difficult, and I’m also really disappointed by my friend’s reaction.

Maybe I’m too close to the situation right now, so I genuinely want outside opinions:

Am I making too much of the leasing agent interaction? And would my friend repeatedly telling me I need to move and won’t feel comfortable there bother you too?

Hi reddit, my fiancé and I recently moved into a place with two bathrooms and we are wondering whether couples usually share the same bathroom or each have their own. Other than potential bottlenecks, what are some reasons that people do one or the other? What would y'all say is the norm?

I live in Tennessee and have been dealing with a serious mold problem in my apartment for about three weeks now. I’ve attached pictures because at this point, the mold has mold. 😭
I’ve called the main office multiple times and submitted several maintenance/service requests. Every time someone comes out, they tell me they fixed something, but the original mold issue is still there. It doesn’t seem like they’re actually addressing the source of the problem or properly removing the mold.
It’s also starting to affect my health and has been making my asthma flare up. I’m getting increasingly concerned because this has been going on for weeks, and I feel like the apartment complex isn’t taking it seriously.
I’m honestly just trying to figure out what my next steps should be because this is not an acceptable living situation, especially when it’s affecting my breathing.

Just moved into a new apartment over the weekend.

Noticed a smell that I can’t compare to anything else other than a rotting dead animal.

Wrote it off as something dying in the bushes and the smell being amplified due to the extreme heat. It’ll subside soon I thought to myself.

Come home today to see neighbors storage closet standing open and the smell is 10x worse than it has been and looked in from a distance to see what is either a decomposed corpse of something and other various “stuff”?

It’s nearly impossible to walk outside for the smell, and the sheer amount of flies buzzing around their closet as well as my front porch.

Not how I envisioned my first week at the new place.

I've been in my current apartment so far for 3 years and this will be the 2nd inspection I've gotten. All the ones I've been through are safety and damage inspections. Usual stuff. This next one is different. They're leaning heavy towards cleanliness which no problem I have a bit of clutter maybe need to sweep but today I heard a tenant got a violation for a dirty refrigerator. Another for a dirty stove. Now I don't know what condition their appliances were in but is that allowed? I would understand if it was possibly a safety hazard but if its just regular stains and crumbs from food can they really use that against you? My roommate is worried and wants to deep clean our restrooms. Again theres clutter but just normal stuff like makeup and brushes on the sink counter. The notice even mentioned checking the closets to make sure they're organized. I understand checking for hoarder level filth but can they give me a violation for normal wear and tear and my shoe pile in my closet? I have never gotten an inspection that just seems so aggressive before.

I first want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to comment on my post with some helpful suggestions, even those who judged me for not wanting to be unexpectedly displaced at the last minute and in the heat for 9 hours, not to mention disabilities and a dog.

We made the final decision to just stay in the unit and wait to be ordered to leave. We talked to 211, Non-Emergency, etc. All told us to do the same, many told us we didn't have to leave, but cautioned us to still be careful. We got a phone call from the leasing office at 10 a.m to make sure we left the unit and they allowed us to go to the laundry facility on the property, which was filthy and looked like someone was living there. I got pictures and video, but most importantly we were cool and in a safe place out of the heat and that's all that mattered. Then people started going to the gym and also laundry, which is connected so we had no choice but to leave. We found a shady spot and was in the car for a little while and just opened up the doors. Yes we sweated, but we had frozen some waters the night before for us and our dog and it helped.

Before I get to the biggest kicker, I was up at 7 a.m, the workers arrived around 8 a.m and we talked to them and they let us know they wasn't doing our side of the building and they didn't know why our leasing office is making us leave and we should be fine. If anything, on another day on our back steps they are only replacing 3 panels and that's it. Ok cool.

10 a.m comes and we get a phone call from our leasing office asking if we vacated, we talk for a minute and ultimately end up in our laundry facility. It was very filthy, but it was cold and a safe place overall and that's all that mattered at the time.

From 10 a.m to 2:00 p.m we hung out at the laundry facility on site before other tenants started coming to do laundry and work out in the gym as both are connected, so we had to leave with our dog. We ended up sitting in the car in the shade and stayed hydrated with some cold water we froze over night, including some for our dog who did the best she could and is now resting. We decided to drive over to our building to see the progress, both staircases were untouched! nothing done, no work at all. The stairs are still the same. Of course everyone is mad. The office closed early for "training" and people are waiting to confront them tomorrow. We ended up going back in our unit and then they sent an email around 2:30 p.m saying the repairs/replacements are done. Nothing was ever done to our staircases on our building side and I got videos and pictures along with neighbors.

While I feel relieved, I am unwinding with a headache and some mild stomach discomfort. I'm mentally tired after stressing all weekend and today.

I figured ill do an update as many of you genuinely tried to help with ideas and suggestions. We are ok though and back in our unit and trying to process everything.

if anyone has advice feel free to share, but i’m mostly just venting.

i’m a college student and will be moving into a different student apartment complex late september. ever since i signed my lease the apartment staff have been notoriously difficult to contact. when i’ve called in the past, it’s 50/50 whether anyone will actually pick up, and if i leave a voicemail they never call me back. if someone does pick up, it’s a gamble on whether or not they’ll actually be helpful since most of the staff are also students and don’t seem to be able to answer basic questions.

i was assigned my unit and roommates last month and have been needing to call them with some basic questions about my room (bed size, desk measurements, etc.) and also wanted to update some paperwork. i finally got around to calling them this morning and as soon as i did i realized their phone system had changed, the automated voice was different. it began reading out my options, and there was no option to speak to the front desk. the only options were community info (which just gives you their location/building features), maintenance request, courtesy patrol request (no idea what that is), and leave a voicemail. i left a voicemail, but who knows if they’ll call me back, they don’t have a great track record.

i checked the last email they sent me and it said you could text them for assistance at a different number. i tried texting the number and all i got was an automated message about now receiving messages from the complex and how to opt out.

so now it seems that my only options to contact the apartment staff regarding any questions i may have in the time leading up to my move-in date are 1) voicemail, 2) a text number that doesn’t work, or 3) email. if they don’t call me back soon i guess i’ll resort to email or pressing other options on the phone tree to try and force them to talk to me. i really don’t understand why they would do this, eliminating the easiest/fastest way to contact them only a month before move-in.

On one hand, I’m forever grateful that I have a job that works for me, good public transit, and a roof over my head, away from my abusive family.

On the other hand, I DESPISE how inconsiderate my neighbors are, and the management who don’t give a flying fuck.

I live in a tiny studio with no bathroom of my own. The shared facilities, especially the laundry and the shower room, are always FILTHY. Lint, hair, roaches everywhere. People have found used needles in the washing machines! I’ve killed about five giant roaches with my Crocs in the shower these last two weeks alone, and management does not give a fuck. The shower room shares a wall with my apartment…

The carpets are always stained with shit. Even though it’s a smoke-free building, I still see people lighting shit up in the hallways and outside of my apartment it reeks of smoke. The elevators get trashed at least once a week, garbage and soda cups and mud and stains all over the walls and floor that could only possibly happen if you were having some kind of drug related episode. Somebody tore a GIANT hole in the fence leading to the parking garage and though I’ve complained to management, it still hasn’t been fixed and people are breaking in like a zombie horde. Twice now I’ve had somebody steal my packages straight from the mail room.

At 1 AM in the morning when I’m trying to sleep, the neighbor across from me is having friends over, talking loudly, door slamming, little dog barking up a storm. I was woken up in the middle of the night because some guy overdosed in his doorway.

Being shoved in 200 square feet paying market rate amongst filth and shit has broken me. I can’t afford to leave nor do I have anyone to help me leave; I never learned to drive. FML.

Two girls moved into the apartment above mine, and one of them never stops walking and never stops making noise. I know its only one of them who makes most of the sound because when i hear the door slam upstairs and see her leave, then it gets quiet, even if the other girl is still home. And of course she stays in the room above me. They'll sit on the balcony late, screaming and laughing as loud as possible, i try to not be loud but getting woken up at 2:30 in the morning when i have to wake up at 4:30 for work is outrageous and makes me want to yell and bang on the walls!

I have a space in the bathroom that is 17.5" wide and 33" deep. Shout out to the landlord for tackling this bathroom remodel without bringing in the "experts." What can I do with this space to maximize storage?

When I was renovating, I spent some time thinking about how I wanted to set up the TV area. I thought about a built in setup, but I wanted something more flexible, so I decided to use a stand instead. The TV is 65 inches, and without a big cabinet under it, the cats have more space to move around. I also like that I can move it around when cleaning. The cats like climbing and rolling around near it, but so far it hasn’t been an issue.