Housing dissatisfaction: University of Toledo students clash with landlords over terms of lease

One of the newest apartment complexes available to University of Toledo students, Edge 1120, is facing controversy over claims of unavailable services.

An anonymous UT student who lives at Edge wrote in an email interview that due to the lack of services available and the lack of assistance to solve the problems by Edge management, they withheld rent for the month of September.

“I have sent numerous emails back and forth with Jennifer Mann, the manager. She is very rude and did not seem concerned with fixing my issues,” the student wrote. “When I told her I was very unhappy with stuff not working and being expected to still pay full rent I told her I was going to withhold rent this month. She told me to contact her when I had a lawyer.”

The student wrote they then had a meeting with Mann, a corporate manager and another resident, and they were treated poorly then as well and told the only thing that could be done for them was to break their lease and leave by that week.

“They were both very mean and rude, the corporate manager more so. When I started crying because of the issues I am having and the stress that it is causing me has exasperated some medical problems I have, she [Mann] was laughing. I kid you not, laughing. She was so condescending and rude. Talking to me like I was some little kid,” the student wrote.

Many residents of Edge are currently in similar situations, wrote the student, but are oftentimes too worried to speak up about it.

“The day I saw my eviction notice, everyone on the fourth floor of my building had one. I know personally of at least 10 people,” the student said.

Edge 1120 management declined to comment about the eviction notices and the alleged issues that caused students to withhold rent.

Carlos Baez, a second-year theater major and a resident of Edge 1120 said there was a range of things not available or not fully-functional when he and other residents moved into the building.

“I wish they would have had everything built when they started moving people in,” Baez said.

According to Baez, the outlets were hard to use, there was incomplete construction in his apartment, they were not finished painting and the Wi-Fi was “spotty at best.” Baez said these problems have yet to be fixed.

The electronic access cards to the main building and the game room were also not complete upon move-in date, according to Todd Rode, a third-year adolescent young adult education major, through an email interview.

“They finished the game room within the first few days and the key fobs were ready during the first week,” Rode wrote.

There was also confusion and lack of spacing surrounding the parking lot at the apartment complex, according to Baez.

“The parking lot situation was also a bit weird with some of the numbered (reserved) parking as well as the maintenance parking wasn’t marked, leading some people to get towed unfairly,” Rode wrote. “They marked them after the people were towed without being told that they were parked in a reserved spot that wasn’t marked yet.”

Baex wrote that much of the frustration towards Edge comes from the high price of rent.

Persons staying at Edge 1120 have a range of floor plans available to them, ranging from studio apartments, one bedroom/one bathroom plans, all the way to four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, according to Edge 1120 website.

The rent is highest for a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment, starting at $999 a month. Rent is cheapest for a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment at $499 a month — though the website says that is not a set price for all apartments.

“I would renew my lease if they lowered the price,” Baez said. “I know I am paying for luxury, and if they aren’t going to give me quality I don’t want to pay.”

Charlon Dewberry, managing attorney with the Student Legal Services at UT, encourages all students who have opted to pay their legal fees and are experiencing these issues to make an appointment with legal services.

For those students who opted out of their legal fees or do not wish to use University Legal Services, Dewberry suggested they speak to a lawyer about their specific situation. For those who do plan to speak with legal services, or an outside attorney, Dewberry said to bring all documentation of the incidents, including copies of maintenance requests placed, eviction notices, the lease and photos documenting any issues that may have occurred accompanied by times and dates.

“If this kind of situation is going on, sooner is always better than later when speaking to a lawyer,” Dewberry said.