Disappointed dorm room situation... Complain?

[J-rap]

I just typed this all out and it was lost while the server was down!  Ugh.  Will try and simplify.

 

My dd requested a 4-person, 1-bath campus apartment.  The school was assigning roommates.  On move-in day, my dd found out that two of the girls had made other arrangements, and it was actually a 3-person apartment.  (One room is a single and the other a double.)

 

So, for a month, my dd has had her own room (in the single) and her other apartment mate has had her own room (in the double).  They get along great and it's a really nice situation.  They kind of felt it was a win-win, since the school couldn't fill the apartment and they each ended up with their own bedroom at the 4-person price (which is less).  They have fixed up their rooms and the apartment and are nicely settled.

 

There are two problems though.  One of them is that apt. hasn't been well-maintained.  The carpet is full of stains, and the wall has holes in it.  There are large cockroaches.  They complained about the roaches, and it took the school about two weeks to address them.  The girls got back after class one day to fine a note from the residence office saying something like, "We found a few cockroaches and your apartment was treated.  Cockroaches are gone."  Except they are not gone.  My dd complained again a few days ago, and received an email response to the effect of, "No, your apartment was treated and they are gone."  

 

She also received another email from the residence office today.  It announced that campus apartments that ended up having less than the original number of roommates required will now be combined, or the students will be charged a higher rate for having bedrooms to themselves.  Also, they told my dd that they are treating her room as a double, even though it is about half the size of her apartment mate's and has only one desk, one bed, and one closet.  So, the school is planning to squeeze in a second bed and desk somewhere, and they would share a closet.

 

Are we being unreasonable to feel miffed about this?  Is this normal?  Of course she ended up in a situation which is better than planned (as far as getting her own room), but the school put her in that situation.  Is it reasonable for the school to come in after a month and change things around?  And to not address things like cockroaches and holes in the wall and stained carpet?

 

My dd is trying to handle things herself, but I feel like I should get involved too (I'm paying for it, after all).  

 

 

[hopskipjump]

I'd get involved at this point. Sometimes the "establishment" needs a little push-back in situations like this. Especially for your dds room, which was set up as a single originally. Things might be more complicated for her roommate, being in a double room - I've heard of universities charging "Double" when a person was willing to "double" with someone, but no one else showed up.

 

Perhaps, if they insist that both rooms are "doubles" - your dd and her roommate could share the larger double rather than your dd being squished into a "fake" double room situation?

 

As far as the roaches - I'd absolutely follow up with an angry-mom phone call on that. I figure - at this point - your kid is accepted to the university and dealing with the rooming people isn't in the same world as contacting a professor about a small issue, kwim?). And roaches fully warrant an angry-mom. Ew.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I agree that you should get involved, especially regarding the price of rooms and potentially trying to cram an extra person into a single room.  

 

However, I assume this dorm/apartment is sharing walls with other dorms/apartments.  The roach problem is probably there to stay, but would be improved if EVERY room in that building were treated.  When I lived in an apartment in Houston, I bug-bombed my place semi-regularly, but roaches still came through.  Every single food item I had was in durable plastic boxes or stored in the fridge, and that helped the roaches to just move along, but I was still part of their freeway system.   :scared:   I'm guessing the people to my left and right weren't as meticulous about keeping food contained.  Sometimes, roaches are just a part of the biome you live in and you can minimize them, but not completely eliminate, especially when sharing walls with others.  

 

For the holes and the stains...  if the carpet is clean, I wouldn't worry about the stains.  They are not going to replace carpeting for you.  If the holes literally pierce the walls, I would complain.  If they are just ugly dents, they aren't going to fix them for you most likely.  

[bettyandbob]

Roaches. Yes push on that. 30+ years ago I was in housing that had structural issues (it leaked when it rained even though it was not on the top floor. My dad was telling me to just accept the schools no response. I didn't I called a state agency related to building management. Problem finally got fixed.

 

Singles/doubles. Most colleges I'm hearing about are changing room capacity. Last spring my dds school purposely oversold spots in housing and converted most rooms to add more beds. Its a way to make more money. It sounds like your school may be able to say you were aware because your DD signed up for a quad situation not a triple. In order for that apartment to have been a quad there would have been two in her bedroom. Your DD got lucky that no one showed to share the room. The fact that it was a triple in previous years doesn't matter--your DD signed up for a quad.

 

I would investigate whether local codes require a certain square footage per person and if the college is within that. That may be able the square footage of the entire apartment counts.

[Rebel Yell]

Bug infestation, definitely needs to be fixed.

Holes in walls? Nail holes, or some drunk idiot crashed through the wall holes? At a minimum, documented so they aren't charged for repairs, ideally, fixed of course.

Stained carpet that has been professionally cleaned? Not pretty, but least of my concerns. Again, document they stains were there prior to move-in.

 

Adding a third roommate is no big deal, if she and current roommate get along well they should share the larger room.

If your school has floor plans and measurements, get those to compare room size. Diamond requested a suite (2-4 BR, with 1 or 2 beds per room, depending on room size) but ended up in a single. Students pay for whatever room they end up in, if a 2-person bedroom only ends up with one, they still pay the original rate. She pays the rate for her dorm, even though she requested something else. Her room is tiny- 8'x10", very old style- I believe this dorm was formerly used to house house the nuns. With the desk, sink, radiator, dresser, and bumped-out closet, there is barely room for a chair let alone another bed and student.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Rebel Yell

[creekland]

Can she get pictures of the roaches that "don't exist?"

 

I'd also be sure all of the previous damage was documented so she's not charged for it.

 

I doubt you can do anything about more students moving in (or will yours move out?).  If that's what you're paying for, that's what you can get - at any time the U has a need for it.  I agree that she and her suite mate might want to consider sharing a room knowing they like each other and with that room being larger.

[Bootsie]

As far as the cockroaches, some is going to depend upon what part of the country she is in and whether this is just par for the course.  In some climates, you are just likely to have them no matter what type of treatment is done, especially during certain times of the year and weather conditions.  Also, sometimes it is worse right after treatment as they come out to die.  

 

I have heard of universities moving students or charging for single rooms a month or so into the semester.  I would check to see what the official housing policy says about this.  I do not understand why a university would disrupt students like this but I have been given two reasons by universities:  1)  if they have a waitlist of people who do want single rooms they can charge them for the single room and increase revenue or 2) they use the opportunity to do updates/repairs to the empty rooms they combine.  3) the utility bills end up marginally less with combined rooms, lowering expenses

[Mom22ns]

Can she get pictures of the roaches that "don't exist?"

 

I'd also be sure all of the previous damage was documented so she's not charged for it.

 

I doubt you can do anything about more students moving in (or will yours move out?).  If that's what you're paying for, that's what you can get - at any time the U has a need for it.  I agree that she and her suite mate might want to consider sharing a room knowing they like each other and with that room being larger.

 

I agree with this, but also want to add that dd was in a similar situation last year in the dorm. Her roommate didn't show and one of her suite mates was a nightmare, so the other moved out. She was told at the beginning of the year, that someone would probably be added to her room. They weren't. She was asked at semester after the nightmare suite mate was kicked out for drug use, if she would move in with another suite to consolidate. She liked the girls in the other suite and agreed, but again, it never happened. Just because they say it may happen, doesn't guarantee it will. 

 

I would document the roaches and the damage. I would ask that if additional roommates are added that your dd is officially moved in with the current roommate, so they share the larger room and are confident about who they are living with. I think that is the best she can expect though. I don't see a need for you to do it if she feels comfortable self-advocating.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Momto2Ns

[Julie of KY]

Roaches and damage I'd certainly complain about, but in some parts of the country it is almost "normal".

 

Every school has a different policy about rooms that are not full. Sometimes they will move students, some will charge a higher rate if you choose to stay where you are. They can also always move someone else in unless you are paying the private room rate or similar for fewer than full occupancy.

 

I've warned friends that are in similar situations this year, that their son's private room may not stay that way - or they might end up getting charged for it.

 

 

[J-rap]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.  I guess what miffed us the most was the sudden disruption a full month after school began, and then announcing that they'd be squeezing a second person into a one-person room.  But yes, the best option would be for the two roommates to move in together in the double room.  

 

Documenting the roaches with photos is a good idea.  This is her third year in the dorms but the first year she has had problems.  

 

I guess we won't worry about carpet stains and wall holes!

[eternalsummer]

She can patch a wall hole pretty cheaply and easily if they bother her.

I agree that roaches in a community housing situation are almost impossible to eradicate room-by-room.  They'll just move to the room next door until they bomb that room, then come back to yours.

[bettyandbob]

 

I guess we won't worry about carpet stains and wall holes!

I'd take photos of wall holes and carpet stains and any other damage that was there. Then I'd send the pictures to residence life letting them know that was the condition on move in and you will not be paying for damage to these items later.

 

When your DD moved in did she get to fill out a form documenting these problems?

[JanetC]

She might volunteer to move into one of the combined apartments rather than accepting a roommate in the tiny room?

 

The roaches move through the walls so holes are not good and yes, if they don't treat the whole building, then the roaches won't be controlled.

 

How soon can she get out of her lease? And for that matter, is there something in the document that says they can raise her rent like that?