The Social Chico Apartments

I've endured nearly two years at The Social Chico Apartments, drawn initially by its affordability. Unfortunately, my experience has been far from great. The first day me and my roommates moved in, we were meet by a lack of cleanliness, and remnants of the previous residents' mess left unattended. The management's response to this was unsatisfactory, setting the tone for what was to come.

Paying slightly over $600 for a 4x2 apartment, I and my roommates were blindsided by an increase to $700 after we signed the lease, conveniently placed on our portal just two weeks before the move-in day. The explanation provided seemed weird, suggesting they could charge a premium for short-term leases.
I know you can charge a premium in California if the apartments were renovated and if you let the tenants know beforehand. The apartments were not renovated, they just spray painted over the inside of cabinets and put a cheap overlay on the floor. Also, the annual school lease was never marketed as a "short-term lease". Objecting to this, I pointed out the potential illegality of charging a premium without clear justification. Also it is illegal if they're making us pay the 12 month lease in 10 months by adding that premium. After confronting them, they reverted to the original $600 (the amount we agreed to by signing the lease).

Despite the attempted fee increase, the quality of the living space doesn't match the cost. Described as "student living" on Google, the complex allowed a 30-year-old non-student, who lied about her student status, into our apartment. The management justified this by citing California law, which allows non-students if they meet application requirements. This caused frustration among me, my roommates, and our families, as the individual brought concerning baggage into our living space. The office didn't take this seriously and just said we shouldn't judge someone so suddenly, and that if something major were to happen they would know when police arrive and they have our complaint on file. Considering everyone we know is on our side, we are in the right for being extremely concerned. We are basically very uncomfortable and scared in that apartment now.

Many residents, myself included, have expressed dissatisfaction with various aspects of the apartments. The refusal to allow tours inside an apartment and the recycling of contracts under a previous name (Craig Hall) raises red flags. Moreover, the ventilation in the bathrooms is pretty bad (we've had mold issues because of the poor ventilation and no windows). The absence of AC in the bedrooms leads to uncomfortably hot conditions during the summer.

Overall, The Social Chico Apartments, is not worth the monthly cost. I would strongly advise anyone looking for a place to explore bett options, even if it means paying a bit more for a safer and more comfortable living environment.

Update:
I did everything I could to get me and my roommates out of this situation. Towards the end of our lease when our roommate situation was worsening, the office never took our concerns seriously and we constantly felt invalidated.

We used Chico state campus resources and were referred to Click for legal advice. We also found out representatives from the SLC advised students in the past to avoid the social (would've been nice to know this before leasing). We later sought actual legal advice aside from click and were told we had a great case against the social, so that should tell you enough to avoid living here. We didn't pursue anything because we were emotionally exhausted from two years of living there, so we dropped it.

I have lived here unfortunately for the past 10 months and it has been the worst experience. It all started when they would accept my form of income for starting a lease for a place that is supposed to be "student living" They wanted to charge first and last months rent and an additional $1000 to prove i am eligible to pay rent on time. They legitimately scam college students. I moved into the apartment side and this has been the worst decision I have made in my life. There is absolutely no insulation in the apartments. There is mold seeping out of the wood in the bathrooms. My friend moved in before me and she said they did not have the apartment prepare. There was dirty carpets and floors. The fridge did not work. etc. The stairs up to are apartment has a broken step that they have not bothered to fix as it is a safety hazard to anyone who climbs these steps. In the winter you are freezing because there is no insulation and now that it is getting hot, it is so hot you can't even be in here. The reason why most don't plug in their swamp coolers is because they use so much energy to even use your bill ends up being hundreds of dollar. This place is also very expensive in rent for college students, and is not even luxury whatsoever.

There is no in unit washer and dryer also which means on top of the $600+ rent everyone pays here you also have to pay for your laundry to be done. That is not even guaranteed to clean your clothes because the washer and dryers are always broken or need more time added to them which costs more money. Both pools I have visited are never properly cleaned. I don't think I have ever seen them the way they are advertised online.

The main social lobby is also so disgustingly horrific. The only "nice" part is where the receptionists sit. The hallways reek of bad smells like weed, and pee. There is dried up vomit on the stair cases. The study rooms have bugs and stained carpets. You feel dirty just by walking through the halls. The furniture is insanely small for no reason. The people are also not very friendly and a lot of the time unwilling to help you or don't even know the answers to basic resident questions.

I beg that this place is shut down. To either be severely remodeled or to be shut down because of health living hazard. It is almost inhumane how terrible living conditions get and they don't even want to work with students on helping them out. I beg anyone reading this DO NOT AND I MEAN DO NOT LEASE HERE.