According to my neighbor my unit sat vacant for at least two months prior to my move in. When I was walked to my unit in May the leasing agent opened the door and was "embarrased" to find enormous stains in the carpeting throughout the unit. I was told then and there that she would take care of it and that something would be done as soon as possible. She thought that the manager would have the carpet dyed. I would have given the complex more time to do this, except that I was given my keys the day before I was scheduled to move in. I had already made plans for the moving truck and people to help me move.
I was required to fill out a check-list of the apartment's condition before receiving my mail key. I listed the stains in the carpeting and that there was a smell similar to rotten food in the entryway. I also listed that the A/C unit made a loud rattling noise (so loud you can hardly carry on a conversation in the apartment or hear your own TV) and omitted a musty smell and made the unit humid. There is evidence in the surrounding plaster and the carpet below that this unit has had a moisture problem in the past. The manager herself took in the form when I was done and said that she would have these items taken care of immediately.
Ten days later I followed up with the front office regarding my unit. I was told that the gentleman had tried to come in and dye the carpeting but couldn't because I had "too much stuff."
The first week of June I came home from work to find a notice on my door that my rent was late. I gathered my paperwork from when I had signed the lease and went to the office. I provided proof that I did not owe rent for June as it was "free" due to my contract signing and length of my lease.
Two days later my garbage disposal stopped working. I reported this to the office as well as the carpet and the A/C unit. Two weeks later nothing had happened so I tried it again. It took a third complaint before the garbage disposal was replaced and by now I was fighting roaches in my apartment. Nothing was done about the carpet and a note was left on the kitchen counter saying that something in the A/C unit was tightened.
When the garbage disposal was replaced another problem was created. Now the sink leaked into the cabinet down below. This wasn't discovered right away so 90% of the cleaning supplies and other items under the sink were drenched over time. Nothing ever did happen with the carpet or roaches and the A/C was still just as loud as ever, musty and making my apartment humid when it ran.
The leaking sink was taken care of immediately! Nothing else was.By now I had purchased several air fresheners and carpet deoderizers to try and get rid of the smell near the front door. I was told that I had been put on a list for my unit to be sprayed, but the roaches kept invading. I was finding them on walls, ceilings, in cabinets and the dishwasher. I tried using Bay Leaves to keep them away, but that didn't work.
Now we were into August and I was still fighting the front office for something to be done. To add to my frustration the conditions surrounding the complex had worsened. The parking lot near my apartment had been unlit since June and was extremely dark. Car windows have been smashed and a run-downmotorhome was even parked outside for several weeks with someone living in it. I didn't feel safe since several men liked to hang around cars in the parking lot. It was bad enough that during the day they liked to stare and talk about you. Now you couldn't see them and I even had someone follow me up my stairwell one night. This along with the gunshots that I had heard right outside my unit a couple of weeks prior did not give me a very secure feeling. Police helicopters circling the area are an all too common thing and I've had people bang on my windows at my cats as they walk by. As a single woman I now try not to leave my apartment after dark.
I haven't heard anymore shots fired since, but I don't feel safe. The men still hang out in the parking lot and women are still leered at and discussed in several different languages. My family won't come to visit because they don't feel safe and I have told my friends to stay away as I don't want anything to happen to them... Day or night.
As of the last weekend in September the carpet is STILL stained, the roaches are still roaming the cupboards, although not as many, and the A/C is still just as bad as ever. Along with the deoderizers (which I still have to use) I have also had to buy plastic containers to store my clothes in as the roaches were even in my closet. I also had to put all open food items into plastic containers and my cats' food. The cats' dish was recently put on a small wire rack about 1" off of the floor so I won't have to kick it each morning and watch the bugs scatter out from underneath it.
I have listened to my neighbors upstairs argue and watch TV day and night. I can understand everyword that is said when I'm in my bedroom. I also have a lady next door that has 7 cats and likes to leave plastic bags full of used litter outside of her door for days at a time. This gets to smelling very bad in the Arizona heat and when you share a common walkway it is hard to avoid. Neighbors in my area yell at each other frequently, kids are left to roam without any supervision. Residents have dumped dirty diapers into the surrounding landscaping and we have a mountain of couches, chairs and sofas by the dumpster. These items have been there for at least 2 months now and only continues to grow.
In the last 3 weeks I have asked for the owner's information to make a complaint and was refused. I also received an eviction notice because the office didn't log another rent payment that I had made. I once again provided proof that I had paid and this time sent a letter to the manager stating my growing frustration with everything.
I now want out of my lease. It looks like the manager that I had been dealing with no longer works here. I don't want to spend the next 4-5 months going through all of this again with a new manager. I feel that I have provided plenty of time and opportunities for something to be done. I know that the roaches are a health concern, the A/C may very well be another health issue and who knows about the carpet?! When I went to discuss breaking my lease I was told that I would have to buyout the rest of the contract which would be well over $4,000. There was no sympathy or effort to fix the problems even at this point in time. It looks as if it is now time to take legal action and complain to as many agencies as possible.
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