Last night when I first came home (around 5 pm), I noticed a plumbing van in the parking lot but didn't think much of it. It wasn't until around 10 pm that I realized the hot water had been completely turned off.

The apartment office was closed, so I called my neighbor to ask if she had hot water pressure. She said no and informed me that she had called the office about the water earlier in the day, and management told her that they were doing routine maintenance on the pipes for 2 of the apartment buildings. My neighbor has been living here for about 2 years, and she told me that management has turned off the hot water without warning several times before.

I work early in the morning, so I waited as long as I could before I was forced to take a freezing cold shower around 10:30 pm. It was horrible! I was told today by my neighbor that the hot water was turned back on around 11 pm. Too bad we weren't given any sort of ETA, as I could have just waited 30 minutes to take my shower.

I don't understand why management didn't simply inform us of this routine maintenance so that we could plan around it. If I would have known the hot water was going to be shut off, I even could've taken a shower when I was at the gym!

Management seems to have no problems with posting tons of other useless flyers on our doors, so I think it was very inconsiderate of them not to inform their tenants that they wouldn't have hot water for 6 hours.

It seems like they should schedule the maintenance to occur during the summer, when the hot water wouldn't be so sorely missed. Furthermore, there are lots of families (with really young children) and elderly people living in the complex. The lack of hot water really sucked for me, but I would have been livid if I had a small child to take care of.

Two additional notes about the water here:

1. I'm not sure what they do to the water, but the hot water is extremely soft - so soft that it feels slimy and makes it hard to get soap off. Meanwhile, the cold water is normal.

2. There have been periods when the hot water is not hot, but rather lukewarm. This happens intermittently but frequently (see the "01/26/2004 if you dont mind not having hot water live here" review).

P.S. Since I'm on a rant, make sure you read the "12/21/2007 Would be worth trying if not for owner" review, as Rainier Management illegally attempted to change the terms of our leases in the middle of the lease term. Thank god for the Austin Tenants' Council!

For more reviews about Rainier Management, see: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rainier-management-austin

User Responses
From: texaschevy	Date: 01/10/2008
HUH actually this was not management - One of our neighbors were installng a satelite dish into the ground which by the way is not allowed and they broke a main water line!!! The water shutting off was the city's fault!! Maybe they should have asked the office before they decided to ruin the night for all the residents here at Kensington!! Dumb ass people!!!
From: ahelaumakani	Date: 02/06/2008
I have the same issue with the water feeling slimy and the water being lukewarm. Also, the water from the tap tastes terrible. I posted 3 of the yelp reviews regarding Rainier-owned complexes. Although between the time I posted the one about Kensington and now, I probably could add a whole other page or two.

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