I moved in and out of this complex all in the same week. As I moved in, I was almost ran over twice from cars speeding through the parking lot. Parking can be terrible if you get home after 6 p.m. The speeding is a constant issue. The day I moved in they lost my lease and my keys.

My first night in the complex I turned on the heater and it was obnoxiously loud. It made it difficult to hear the television. When neighbors flush the toilet, you can here the flow of drainage through the pipes. My upstairs neighbors could be heard stomping through the apartment and their kids crying. My next door neighbor had his piano located against the wall near the head of my bed and could be heard playing all day and as late as midnight. My washroom door also fell apart on my first day there. I noticed the there were several nails in it to keep it together. It lasted long enough for me to put clothes in the washer and shut the door on my second night.

On my third day in the complex, the office staff made an unauthorized entry into my home and initially said it was for one reason and later recanted and said that it was for another reason when ultimately they were checking to see who was in my home. I was referred to this apartment through a realtor. The Lodge staff contacted my realtor before they ever called me. They did not give me any notice that they would be entering my apartment. I had my daughter move my things in due to me being out of town for a family emergency. My daughter resides in the area and was able to move my things in but could not take time off to make sure the lights, cable, internet and phone was set up. So my male cousin stayed there for two days to ensure that everything was set up for my return.

After the unauthorized entry, I was then called and asked who was in my home and I said my cousin who had been in the apartment for at that time a day and a half and had helped my daughter move in. I was told that my cousin would have to have a credit and criminal check done and added to the lease in order for him to stay there. This was even after they were told that he would only be there for one more day to ensure that the cable guy hooked everything up. I checked my lease and found that as long as it had not to exceed 7 consecutive days that I did not have to inform them that anyone was there especially since he was not living there. I detemined that very day that I did not want to reside there if that was how they treated new tenants...any tennant for the matter. It is against the lease to enter anyone's home without notice and the reasons listed on the lease was still not one of the reasons they gave for entering my home. I then gave my 60 day notice and was still require to pay the rent and reletting fee even though I only had my things in the apartment for 5 days. I was referred to the Austin Tennants Association to have them do an investigation into this matter and I think it is worth looking into.

User Responses
From: trididos	Date: 03/25/2008
I understand your concerns regarding entry, but just so that you are a better informed renter in the future, the management company does not require additional approval to enter an apartment at any time. Your signed lease contract grants the owner and owner's representatives express consent to enter their property at any time. As a renter, you pay for the use of the property, but you do not won it. They have a fiduciary duty to protect the physical assets of the property, and as such they do not, at any time, require your permission to enter the apartment. The Texas lease contract makes this very clear. While it is generally an accepted practice to notify a resident renter of an intent to enter, it is not required by the lease, by statue, or by law.

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