Work tools and a house illustrate the concept of home improvement. (Alberto Masnovo/Adobe Stock)
Florida A&M University students living off campus in Tallahassee have reported unclean move-in conditions, broken appliances and delays in maintenance repairs.
Their experiences included borrowing cleaning equipment, managing without a working washer and relying on temporary air conditioning. Residents said management provided repair updates and maintenance workers inspected a broken washer and installed temporary air-conditioning units. Some repairs took weeks to complete, while other issues remained unresolved.
Justice Crawford, a fourth-year cybersecurity student at FAMU, moved off campus in August and said he found dirt and debris in his apartment upon arrival.
“There was like stuff on the floor, and there was some dirt here and there,” Crawford said.
He also recalled finding screws in his room, windows that needed cleaning and lighting problems, including a bathroom bulb he described as hanging loose and a nonworking light attached to the living room ceiling fan.
Crawford said the apartment’s condition when he arrived left him surprised and disappointed.
“I was also a little surprised because, you know, I didn’t really expect it to be messy, but then after that, I’m a little bit disappointed,” Crawford said.
A few days after arriving, Crawford asked the front office if there was a vacuum available so he could clean. He said the office did not have cleaning supplies for him to use, so he borrowed a vacuum from a roommate instead.
For Ongel Harris, a second-year Doctor of Pharmacy candidate at FAMU, a broken washing machine limited her ability to do laundry at home.
Harris moved off campus in August to reduce the burden of moving her belongings and paying for storage between semesters. She said the broken washer was reported to management and had been out of service for more than two weeks before maintenance came to inspect it.
“So, that has just affected my ability to wash my clothes, but thankfully, I have a good support system around me,” Harris said.
Harris also sought support from others while she was without a working washer. She reported additional concerns, including a broken dresser, unclean move-in conditions and mold on her roommates ceilings. Harris said management sent cleaners right away to address cleanliness concerns and provided repair updates, although some issues remained unresolved approximately a month after move-in.
Harris described management as respectful but said paying residents should be able to have problems addressed promptly.
“With anybody paying rent, I believe that, like issues should be taken care of as soon as possible,” Harris said.
Tyrell Fils, a fourth-year cybersecurity student at FAMU, said an air-conditioning breakdown left his apartment without cooling for about a day.
“[Maintenance] came in, like, they installed, like, those window ACs,” Fils said.
The window units served as a temporary solution while maintenance arranged the permanent repair. Fils said he believed replacement equipment had to be shipped because it was unavailable locally.
“I think they had to ship the actual cooler for the AC because I don’t, I don’t believe they found it in the stores nearby,” Fils said.
Fils said maintenance eventually completed the permanent repair after the temporary window units had been in place for approximately a month.