I originally rented from University Gardens and the name has been switched to Campus Gardens since then.

Thankfully I've had no problems with rats or bedbugs, and only 2 mice in the year and a half I've lived here. But roaches have been a problem from the very beginning. The population of roaches varies, but during the best times I still see at least 3 a day. During the worst times (about 50% or more of my time here), they are everywhere - they crawl out from pretty much anything I move in the apartment. The problem does not even remotely improve after numerous exterminations.

Some of the staff are friendly and helpful. The majority of the staff are rude, unhelpful, unprofessional and full of ----. By "full of ----", I mean that they are unaware of what's going on and what the policies are, so most of what they tell you is grossly inaccurate. I've had staff yell at me and threaten to cancel my lease for "complaining too often."

They recently turned Campus Gardens into a "gated community." The gate has just made life here worse and less safe. There are 2 main entrances here - one on Riggs Rd. and one about a half mile away on University. After hours (from 11:00pm -7:00am most days) the only way to enter the complex on foot is through the University entrance. Which means that anyone taking a bus home from the nearest metro station has to walk on foot down University late at night - read the other reviews for details on the neighborhood, and you'll know why this is a bad situation. I would imagine this an issue for the many lower-income people living here who work 2nd or 3rd shift jobs and don't have cars. We were told we would have keys to access the Riggs Rd. entrance on foot, but this has not happened. The parking situation has only gotten worse as well. We were told we could ALWAYS get guest parking passes from the gate house if the office is not open, but they are ALWAYS out of these passes. So then you need to find street parking, and the closest street parking is off of Riggs Rd. And if it's after 11:00pm, that means you'll be parking on Riggs and walking several blocks down University after dark. Awesome!

These are just a few of the many problems here. University of Maryland needs to stop recommending Southern Management to its students!!! I've spoken with their housing department and they have no system for tracking complaints - they referred me to this site. I'm moving out very soon, and will be sending letters to the state health department, the attorney general's office, southern management and the UMD housing office about my experience here. I'd encourage all of you to do the same!

User Responses
From: redds38	Date: 04/25/2008
I am sending letters to the State Health Dept. and the Attorney General's Office as well. I have sent letters to Southern Management, but of course they don't care because they are there to make money by any means necessary. Sad but true, with all the bad reviews on this website, I am shocked to see people still renting from this complex. I guess if you have no choice or if you are here illegally then you will lay your head anywhere. I Thank God I was able to get out of there for my daughter's well-being.
From: emcclam	Date: 06/13/2008
Hi Mishling2 Please read the Gazette online www.gazette.net and go to the search engine and put in University Gardens apartments and read the illegal evitions that have been taking place here.
From: mishling2	Date: 07/03/2008
Hi emcclam - I read the article in the gazette. To be honest it doesn't shock me with University Gardens. I wish the tenants would get together to file a class action lawsuit for this darn bed bug infestation.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates