Ending my lease

Today is the last day I can legally give my 30 days notice to the Property Manager at Landmark Square Apartments. I've given them multiple opportunities and offers to do the right thing and they continue to let me down. Their slogan is "Expect to be impressed." I'm still waiting. My experience is that their behavior toward single women of a certain age is cold-hearted bordering on age discrimination.

#1 For 11 months I have had a wet basement and notified them of it 4 days after I moved in. I'm required to step into puddles in order to put clean wet clothes into my dryer. This is dangerous and they know it. I know someone whose wife and unborn child died by electrocution because of the same situation.

Are they hoping I will be electrocuted? Their lease says that the tenant must pay the rent every month to the end of the lease even if they are dead. Dead tenants can't complain, so perhaps I've discovered their agenda.

Management insists that the only acceptable solution (to them) is putting more toxic tar on the wall. That solution doesn't work, as anyone can see, and I don't want to have to live with any more toxicity in my environment. Because they refuse to address the cause of the leaks, not just the symptom, which is to repair the outside of the foundation, I suggested an economical false floor of wood or plastic pallets so that I could keep my feet dry while the water flows underneath to the drain. I found a source of plastic pallets that would cost them $162.50 (about 20% of one month's rent). They refused.

#2 About 10 days ago I called their office and asked if they could refer me to someone who could dig my van out of their parking lot. The snow was packed solid around all 4 tires, and I had no boots or snow tires to get out. They wouldn't even return my phone call.

I did dig myself out and the exertion triggered an awful kidney stone attack. My first, so I didn't know what it was. It felt like I had a poker thrust through my lower abdomen back to front. The pain was so bad I was trembling and sweating.


#3 Two days ago I slipped and fell in their icy parking lot, landing on my hip - where the kidney stone is still lodged - and wrenching my shoulder. Fortunately I have enough personal padding that I didn't break a hip, but I'm sore. But what if I had osteoporosis?  Many older women who break a hip don't live long and rarely leave the hospital except in a hearse. These three things - and there are so many more issues - give me cause to not only leave, but to tell others why they should not live here. 

The tenants in the adjoining townhouse moved out in September. They were my age. The unit has been vacant ever since. That's a loss of $3,140 income to management, so far. In 30 days my unit will be vacant too. That will double their loss. I guess they feel their need to be right justifies the cost to their bottom line.

I offered to turn their business around to become fully occupied and profitable - I did it with my bed and breakfast - for one month's rent and they rejected my offer. Actually they completely ignored it. How rude.  I tried to be part of the solution and was ignored, so I feel no guilt in letting the public know what I've experienced. Too bad the owners won't consider replacing me as their Property Manager, but they don't even want me as a tenant, so why would they want a profitable business?

What do you want to bet this post will turn up when prospective tenants do a Google or Bing search on Landmark Square Apartments in Erie Pennsylvania?