- Report: #45169
Complaint Review: Buckingham Village Apartments Paradigm Management - Arlington Virginia
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Buckingham Village Apartments Paradigm Management
4319 N. Pershing Drive Arlington, 22203 Virginia, U.S.A.
Phone:
703-522-0991
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Buckingham Village Apartments Paradigm Management Rip-off No heat Arlington Virginia
Buckingham Village Apartments, managed by Paradigm Management, consistently does not heat its properties at night and on weekends. The management has told me that the boiler is on a thermostat, but since the outside temperature usually goes down in the evening, and that's exactly when the heat goes off, I suspect that they are turning down the boiler when they leave at night to save money.
Frequently the heat also goes off during the day, but not nearly as often as at night. During the day, I can contact the Arlington County Code Enforcement office and speak to an inspector, and they have been helpful. At night and on weekends, I have to call the police non-emergency number to page an inspector. The emergency maintenance guy they have is great, but he lives an hour away, and resolution of the problem at night usually takes several hours.
My concern is that since the heat consistently goes off at night, there is probably nothing wrong with the boiler -- they are simply turning it down or off, because they know that most people will not want to go through the hassle of paging the maintenance crew and the inspector in the middle of the night.
I pay $985 for a one-bedroom apartment. According to the lease, heat is included. I have been heating my apartment primarily with a space heater. Electricity is not included in the lease, so I am paying to heat my apartment myself.
I know that I can put my rent in escrow, but that means I have to hire a lawyer and pay the filing fee, at my own cost, not Paradigm Management's.
I warn anyone considering renting at Buckingham Village or any Paradigm Property to reconsider.
Polly
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.
Frequently the heat also goes off during the day, but not nearly as often as at night. During the day, I can contact the Arlington County Code Enforcement office and speak to an inspector, and they have been helpful. At night and on weekends, I have to call the police non-emergency number to page an inspector. The emergency maintenance guy they have is great, but he lives an hour away, and resolution of the problem at night usually takes several hours.
My concern is that since the heat consistently goes off at night, there is probably nothing wrong with the boiler -- they are simply turning it down or off, because they know that most people will not want to go through the hassle of paging the maintenance crew and the inspector in the middle of the night.
I pay $985 for a one-bedroom apartment. According to the lease, heat is included. I have been heating my apartment primarily with a space heater. Electricity is not included in the lease, so I am paying to heat my apartment myself.
I know that I can put my rent in escrow, but that means I have to hire a lawyer and pay the filing fee, at my own cost, not Paradigm Management's.
I warn anyone considering renting at Buckingham Village or any Paradigm Property to reconsider.
Polly
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Anon
Miami,Florida,
U.S.A.
Heat is a basic right in an apartment
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, February 21, 2003
You are entitled to heat, water, electricity, etc. in an apartment. These are basic habitability issues. Since you have noticed a pattern, put your observations in writing, how many times you have called the city inspector, the maintanence man, etc. Send that letter to the main office and the owners if you can track them down. Keep a copy of your letter. It is illegal to evict someone who filed this kind of complaint, but it's been tried, so keep your paper trail. An online tenant rights source is www.nolo.com Nolo Press publishes many guides on tenant/landlord rights, but get state specific information because the laws change state to state. It's obvious that the management is aware of the problem, now it is up to them to fix it. Good luck with it.
