Warning if you're looking to rent on Capitol Hill

[Passing on the info from my friend R.]

For those of you looking for a place on Capitol Hill, wanted to share my experience with the Biltmore Apts (the big brick building off Olive, by Starbucks and Glo's) and RP Management.

I really don't want to sound like the Frye apts dude always yelling downtown, but I think it's important to warn people considering renting from RP Managment. Here's my scoop:

My onsite manager, nice enough guy, was sick all the time and had a friend fix a plumbing problem in my apartment. The friend left the hot water running all day + night and it caused a lot of damage. My manager said his friend shouldn't do repairs drunk, and offered me a roll of quarters to do any laundry I needed from mopping up the water. Nice.

My rent was raised almost $300 in less than two years . It went up very soon after my 6-month lease expired and just kept on going. They wouldn't give me a lease extension. People kept having to move out because of repeated rent hikes. My neighbors in the little house across the street had theirs raised by RP Managment $700 in less than 6 months.

Last Fall they finally started to offer lease extentions. When I went to sign mine I was told it would be at my newest rent amount (effective the next month), which I hadn't received any written or verbal notice whatsoever of whatsover. Completely illegal. Washington state law requires 30 days written notice for a rent increase. On top of that, they were trying to enforce it a month early if I wanted a least extension. Shady.

I called the tenants union, who advised me that RP Managent could not enforce a rent increase without proof of written notice. I wrote RP management a certified letter (as advised) asking for the notice. No response. My onsite manager told me I could pay the increase or face eviction.

So: rents go up, shit happens, but in my experice RP Managment/Biltmore apartments raises rents aggressively, excessively, and my case illegally.

RP Management manages some beautiful buildings on the hill:
http://www.rpmanagement.net/browsehood.asp?state=Washington&hood=Capitol%20Hill


My advice is avoid them at all costs.

R

Visit the tenant's union site if you're dealing with a similar headache:
http://www.tenantsunion.org/rights/23/rent-increases