Apartment Review for The Cloisters - Washington, DC

I lived in the Cloisters for 1 year (April 09 to April 10). It was my first rental experience so perhaps my idea of acceptable living conditions may be inappropriate for a rental, but I doubt it. First, I would like to say that in general the staff, maintenance and property management office, were polite and eager to help. But…. There is an ongoing, seemingly long term, rat infestation on the property. They burrow under the patios on the ground level and around the fitness center as far as I could tell. I informed the front office several times, but the problem was never resolved so I stopped calling. About a month after I moved in the property moved from having four trash dumpsters around the property to two trash compactors. Seemingly fine, except they were never able to get residents to stop putting trash on the curb where the former trash dumpster used to be. This of course was simply one reason there was/is no way they will get control of the rodent problem. My unit itself was extremely inefficient and difficult to keep warm. I had a higher electric bill when I started using the heat then I had ever had with all of my utilities combined (gas, electric & water) in any particular month in a three story rowhome in DC. In the summer months it was very humid and had to be very cold to dry some of the moisture in the air. Finally, while the front office staff was pleasant, there was very little organization as far as I could tell. I took advantage of the move in special of one free month that I could use anytime during my stay. I choose to use it about seven months in. Every month since then I received a late notice with a late fee. Every month I called to resolve and they assured me it would be taken care of. Well long story short… my deposit was returned short “base rent” which I can only explain as that same late fee they never should have charged in the first place. Still trying to get that resolved. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.