A "bait and switch" scheme - and other problems

I’ll start this review by saying that the two stars stand for two things: location and square footage. This complex is in a great location, just a block from the Van Ness red line metro stop. The apartments are spacious and in pretty good condition. These two things convinced us to live here and for 10 months we loved it.

Now on to the bad part. Equity Residential actively participates in a “bait and switch” rent scheme. We viewed a 800 square feet unit in October 2015 that was listed on the website as $1,770/month. Julie, the leasing agent, told us that since we were moving in during the slower winter months, that the rent wouldn’t go up that much after a year. We loved the building, location, amenities (pool - which is not managed by Equity, by the way) and we even had friends in the building that had moved in within the last year.

We proceeded with renting the unit and at the time we put down the security deposit and signed the lease, we saw that the “monthly rent” on the lease was listed as $3,400. Underneath that section, the lease said we were receiving a “monthly concession,” which brought the monthly rent owed to $1,770. We were told that this was a formality. We signed, not understanding that this was the “bait” of the “bait and switch.”

Equity Residential will raise your rent illegally

Be forewarned: Equity Residential aggressively and illegally will raise your rent when your lease comes up for renewal.

When the leasing office sends out annual renewal notices, it frequently requests rent increases of several hundred dollars a month or even over a thousand dollars a month. Even if you can negotiate a lower rent, it's likely that you'll still end up paying substantially more than the legal limit.

The best way to fight this is to spread the word about this scam, which is why I felt compelled to share this review. As more and more people report their cases, the more likely it is that we will be able to stop this illegal action against tenants.

On the positive side, we have an amazing tenants' association that has been extremely vigilant and helpful, acting as a check and balance to the property management company.

Also, the building has a history of break-ins to residences and cars alike, at least since I've been here over the past few years. Hot water and elevators frequently has issues. My advice is lock your door and hold on to your lease tightly.