The Rambler Apartments relocated several residents to nearby hotels Oct. 18 because of water leaks, according to an email sent the previous day to residents.
Jessica Nunez, president of TruePoint Communications, said 12 units have been impacted by the water leaks. She said at the current rate of repairs, Rambler will move residents back in by mid-November.
“There were water leak issues that took place, and we needed to do the repair and restoration process,” Nunez said. “The fastest way to do that is to relocate (the residents), so it’s more convenient for them and it enables us to address it more quickly.”
Elyssa Eisenberg, a management information systems senior and a resident who moved to the AC Hotel, said Rambler has repeatedly delayed their move-in.
Rambler originally told her she would be back in the apartment by Oct. 29. Three weeks later, Eisenberg received an email from Rambler notifying her that she could move in on Nov. 10.
However, when Eisenberg’s roommate went to the Rambler leasing office, she was told it would likely be Nov. 15. Then, Eisenberg received an email on Nov. 9, one day before their previous move-in day, stating their new move-in would be Nov. 15.
“I doubt (the Nov. 15 move-in date) will even happen because the only way we’ve been able to get any answers … is to walk to Rambler and wait for them to speak with us,” Eisenberg said. “It’s just a really frustrating situation.”
Accounting senior Caitie Harmon said she also had communication issues with Rambler. She’s currently staying in the Moxy Hotel with her roommates.
“It’s constant surprises, and we don’t even know how to proceed,” Harmon said.
The complex is giving each of its currently displaced residents abated rent and $50 of rent credit a day to cover expenses like food and laundry, Eisenberg said.
“It’s been really stressful,” Eisenberg said. “It’s really unreasonable for them to think that everyone can just afford to live out of a hotel with all of these unexpected expenses.”
The situation has also impacted students’ academic work.
“I’m incredibly behind on school because I have to worry about what I’m going to eat for breakfast, what I’m going to figure out for lunch and dinner or how I’m going to do my laundry,” Eisenberg said.
Eisenberg said with the water leak came what she thinks is black mold. Eisenberg said she sent photos of what she believes to be mold in Harmon’s apartment to apartment management.
“They said they were coming to fix the leak, and I immediately thought of mold because there’s no way that it takes ten days to fix a leak,” Eisenberg said. “I don’t even think they admitted to it being mold until I sent photos.”
However, Nunez said there is no documentation of black mold in the building. Harmon said she brought up several concerns starting in September but said management dismissed them.
Harmon said even once she’s allowed to move back in, she’s concerned that what she thinks is mold will grow again.
“Our worry is if there’s mold spread everywhere in the building, won’t it just come back?” Harmon said. “We gave them opportunities to fix it way in advance and expressed our concerns in advance, but they just waited so long to do anything. Now, it’s a much bigger problem.”
Eisenberg said when she stopped by her room about one week ago, the ceiling was missing and nothing had changed since she moved out. While the complex told Eisenberg’s roommate they would be moved in by Nov. 15, she said she has no confidence in Rambler.
“If I had the time, I would go stand outside of the leasing office to beg people to not stay there,” Eisenberg said. “You couldn’t pay me to live there.”
