“Dear PoPville,
Several front desk people in my building frequently take off or pull down their masks (one in particular is wearing a mask maybe 50% of the time if we’re being generous). There are also many residents who never wear masks and the front desk people sit and chat with them and never remind them of the mask rules. (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
This is the response [see below] I got from my building’s manager when I let her know that I wasn’t touring other units in the building as previously discussed because I didn’t feel safe being in the lobby, hallways, or empty units. All because I rarely see the building’s employees wearing masks correctly and consistently. (more…)
Photo by brunofish
“Dear PoPville,
I’m trying to look for an apartment using various sites, but I can’t search by “smoking allowed”. Now that I have a medical marijuana card, this is a big feature for me. Anyone else run into this issue and found a solution? Thanks!”
Photo by Erin
“Dear PoPville,
I moved out of DC in January for school – I did not break my lease, had all of my housemates confirm, and also tried to replace my vacancy (set up two CL postings, forwarded responses to the housemates, etc.). For a couple months now I’ve been trying to get my security deposit back but to no avail. The landlord/rental company has said they aren’t responsible for it but the housemates are refusing to return my deposit. I’ve contacted OAT but wanted to see what are other avenues to consider. This whole situation sucks because I don’t wanna screw the old housemates over (plus small claims court sounds exhausting) but also I need that money!”
“Dear PoPville,
My building cut off our AC last week and with today’s high at 82, my apartment has been unbearably hot. Last night the thermostat read 78 at 10pm. Do DC renters have any options to file a legal complaint?
An updated reading from this morning. (80 degrees)”
Photo by Diane Krauthamer
“Dear PoPville,
I live in a large apartment complex near the DC wharf. We have been told by the building’s management that due to COVID we are not allowed to have guests – even in our own apartments! Is this even legal? Can they restrict us from having people over, even when those guests are wearing masks as they enter the property? This large building isn’t full and the leasing office has guests (strangers) visit daily (wearing masks) who tour the property with the intent to lease. How is management allowed guests and paying residents aren’t. I don’t think they can legally restrict us but I was hoping someone might have some insight into this.”
Photo by Olaf Zerbock
“Dear PoPville,
Local colleges have gone remote for the most part for the fall, so many students are not planning to return to dc anytime soon. A student tenant, who is not returning for fall, recently stop paying his share of rent for a group house. He has been trying to find someone to take over his responsibilities for the lease, without much luck. I am curious if and how other landlords may be dealing with similar student tenant issues, since there are a lot of colleges in DC. Thank you.”
Photo by Geoff Livingston
“Dear PoPville,
During my 10+ years living in DC, I have handled my monthly water and sewer usage a number of different ways: no charge (apartment pays it); directly billed with DC Water; and via a formula, referred to as RUBS where essentially the building receives a bill and divvys it out amongst residents via a formula. No matter how I’ve been billed, the cost was so nominal that I never cared to investigate how or why I was being charged the way that I was – on average, anywhere between $15-25 per person for both sewer and water.
All that has changed. (more…)
Photo by angela n.
“Dear PoPville,
I live in a high-rise “luxury” building in NW, less than 3 years old. My roommate and I were the first people to live in our unit.
In May, we noticed a minor bug problem, and called maintenance. Since then we’ve discovered we have a huge cockroach infestation. At the worst point we were killing 20+ full-sized roaches in a day. Now we see only a few a week, but they persist.
I have had to plead with our building to send out pest control multiple times, and they’ve now been out 7 times, and done an entire apartment spray 3 times where they spray the baseboards. (more…)
Photo by Tim Brown
“Dear PoPville,
My husband and I are moving out of our current apartment and, as per our lease, had to give 60 days’ notice. Our landlords indicated they intend to pretty immediately list and start showing the apartment, while we are still in it. Now, we have never had landlords try to show an apartment we were still living in, though I know this is their right and is not entirely uncommon. While normally it would just be inconvenient, during a global pandemic, it’s pretty scary to envision strangers tromping through our apartment where we both work and live (and are basically at home 24/7 these days!) and it also feels particularly pointless because I think the odds of people seeing our increasingly messy and cluttered apartment as we ourselves prepare to move out will not be particularly appealing to any potential future renters. On top of everything, I am also pregnant, which my landlords are aware of (and apparently do not care). (more…)