Apartment bait and switch

By Rayz

In Oct. of 2008 I rented my first apt. At that time I was shown a very nice 2 bdrm. apt. Upon moving him, I was very dissappointed when I opened the door because it looked nothing like what I was shown. (Bait & Switch Tactic) There had been no cleaning done and we had to run the sweeper prior to unloading the truck ! The carpets were filthy, stained & damaged from cigarette burns. It took them a wek to clean them and they still look bad ! Nothing had been cleaned. There was paint overspray all over kitchen cabinets, ect. and I believe this was during previous tenants stay because walls were not freshly painted. I had no hot water for showers due to a problem with a hot water heater malfunction and it took more than a week to be fixed, I have a leak around my bedroom window and when it rains it drip drip drips, there was tile flooring in cabinets for lining which had been glued and the glue has seeped through and all over the pots & pans, they advertised a seperate laundry room but instead this unit had the washer/dryer hook-up in the kitchen and now I have no room for my table & chairs What used to be laundry room smells like a dirty ashtray ! There are safety issues/code violations, marijuana odor in hallway, drug deals taking place in the parking lot, and also very smelly cooking odors, loud music 24/7 and the list goes on & on. I typed a letter of complaint along with a list of repairs and gave it to management and asked that these repairs be made or I would escrow my rent money with the courts. I also asked if I could give a 30 day notice and terminate my lease because of the “Bait & Switch” , drugs on the premises, repairs, ect. and they refused. They offered to move me to another unit, but I fear for my safety and also the safety of my fiance because of the drugs and would simply like to terminate my lease. The management has since made a few minor/petty repairs to pacify me, but the bigger issues are going unaddressed ! Does anyone have any advise ?

Edited on: Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 2:12 pm

3 Responses to “Apartment bait and switch”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

anonymous

January 20th, 2009 8:55 am

You have probably pissed off your property manager by using strong terms like: “Bait and Switch” “Courts”
Those threats will probably only make the situation worse. Many apartment communities us model units to show to perspective tenants, so it may not be quite bait and switch as you think.
My question to you is: Why did you move in if it is so different than you agreed to? Its hard to believe that you never wnet into the unit before you brought the moving truck over. You should have never moved in. Hopefully, you have a clear verifiable paper trail showing the problem from day one. Either way, why not take them to court as you have threatened?


Scott

January 20th, 2009 8:00 pm

It probably isn’t bait and switch. In order for a rental property to be quilty of the illegal “bait and switch” tatic, they would actually need to purposely advertise a less expensive apartment then switch to a more expensive one at the time of signing.
Showing you a model layout and then renting you a similar one with the same pricing is completely legal. However, you still should be able to get the unit is rentable condition. I would avoid pesturing the landlord or apartment manager about every single small thing, its better to focus on the bigger more pressing issues. If they are important enough, file a complaint.


Anonymous

October 4th, 2012 3:26 pm

This is why I hate apartments. I am sorry you are going through this. If I were you, if they offer to move you to another apartment I would take it. Also, view this as a lesson learned. When shopping for apartments have them show you the unit that you are going to actually be moving in. That way if repairs are needed, you can make them do it before you sign your name on the dotted line. They use model apartments as a tatic to suck you in, the model units almost never looks like the unit you are actually going to get. This is how they advertise. I wish you the best of luck.


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