Comment Detail

Comment

My partner and I have lived in a one bedroom apartment 17 South Apartment complex in West Ashley South Carolina (29414) for 3 years now. Firstly, it's a one bedroom but I would never be able to afford the place on my own. Half of my income each month goes to paying just my half of the rent, which has consistently increased over time. In April 2020, our rent was $1100, with utilities included. As of the writing of this comment, our rent is $1600 including utilities. Multiple other tenants in my building contracted mold poisoning and severe health complications. Some of them planned to sue, with proof from doctors, but 17 South offered them apartments in other buildings for a slight discount. They then turned around and rented out the moldy apartments to new tenants. The ceiling in the hallway right outside my door has leaked and dripped water multiple times over these 3 years. Tenants, including myself, had to place buckets in order to keep the carpeted floors from being soggy. Most recently, the leak became so bad that multiple buckets had to be placed to catch water, paint, and plaster that was falling. The leak has recently been stopped, but the paint and plaster remains on the floor, and the ceiling has not be fully repair. The complex also has poor management, there's never any response from upper management(West Shore LLC), and they run the folks who work in the leasing office ragged. Our building hallways and stairwells are filthy. Pet fur, pet waste, vomit, food, etc can be found in the stairwells or hallways in various locations. This indicates no cleaning is being done. The outdoor mail area, where all residents receive their mail, is sealed by a rotting, crumbling wooden door. The complex has removed all public trash cans (besides pet waste bins), causing a huge increase in the litter on the premises. I believe one of the maintenance workers has been sleeping in the pool area/ leasing office for months. I KNOW all of these issues are because the management company, West Shore, does not provide their workers a living wage. They do not provide their tenants with clean living spaces. All they care about is acquiring more and more properties. Looking at their website they own 45 tenant properties, with somewhere from 160-900 units across 7 states. They have enough money rolling in to provide even adequate living, let alone deliver on the actual promises they make when they give you the tour. The worst thing is we've had to renew our lease twice, taking the rent hike, because we cannot find anywhere else with a better price.