Buckingham Village Apartments, managed by Paradigm Management, consistently does not heat its properties at night and on weekends. The management has told me that the boiler is on a thermostat, but since the outside temperature usually goes down in the evening, and that's exactly when the heat goes off, I suspect that they are turning down the boiler when they leave at night to save money.
Frequently the heat also goes off during the day, but not nearly as often as at night. During the day, I can contact the Arlington County Code Enforcement office and speak to an inspector, and they have been helpful. At night and on weekends, I have to call the police non-emergency number to page an inspector. The emergency maintenance guy they have is great, but he lives an hour away, and resolution of the problem at night usually takes several hours.
My concern is that since the heat consistently goes off at night, there is probably nothing wrong with the boiler — they are simply turning it down or off, because they know that most people will not want to go through the hassle of paging the maintenance crew and the inspector in the middle of the night.
I pay $985 for a one-bedroom apartment. According to the lease, heat is included. I have been heating my apartment primarily with a space heater. Electricity is not included in the lease, so I am paying to heat my apartment myself.
I know that I can put my rent in escrow, but that means I have to hire a lawyer and pay the filing fee, at my own cost, not Paradigm Management's.
I warn anyone considering renting at Buckingham Village or any Paradigm Property to reconsider.
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