Neville C. Johnson & Associates, Inc.

Review: I rented an apartment from Neville C Johnson while I was attending [redacted] last year. The condition of the apartment was poor. The walls were horrifying and I was told that they would be painted over the holiday break, which they never were. I also alerted him to the fact that my ground level bedroom windows didn’t lock, and I was told that he would have somebody come out to install locks, which also never happened, posing a serious security risk. His company forgot to pay to water bill at one point, so for a period of three days our water was shut off, during which I had to travel an hour to [redacted] to stay at my parent’s house. The living situation became untenable due to his professional failings in conjunction with an unstable roommate who would turn off the electricity to try an extort money from me, who sold drugs out of the residence et cetera. I contacted Neville Johnson to let him know that the living situation caused me to fear for my safety and that I would be finding a sublet. I was fully above board and explained that I would continue to pay rent until I found a suitable sublessee. I had at least a dozen well qualified candidates interested in renting my room, however they all informed me that the current roommate would not respond to any of their attempts at communication. My mother and I both informed Neville Johnson that the other tenant would not communicate with the respective tenants, but he took no action. A month after I vacated the residence, I had several candidates ready to move in but neither Neville nor the other tenant were attempting to arrange a sublet. My mother and I decided to visit the residence because we were suspicious that the other tenant had illegally sublet my room, and by all accounts she had. I took copious photos to document the state of the room for which I was still paying rent to Neville C Johnson, even though somebody else was living there. My mother called Neville Johnson immediately and asked him to meet us at the residence to see for himself that the other tenant had illegally sublet my room. She was pocketing the money that the sublessee was paying for rent, while intending for me to continue paying rent for the remainder of the lease. He failed to meet us at the residence, and never followed up after that. I provided Neville Johnson with the photos that I took which included a photo of the May rent/utilities check written by the illegal sublessee to the current tenant. I provided Neville Johnson with the name, phone number, and place of business for the illegal sublessee and he egregiously failed to take action to sort the situation out. As if I needed any more proof, I have provided Neville Johnson with direct email confirmation from the illegal sublessee herself that she was living in the residence. I put the two of them in touch via email, and it would appear that he has made no effort to contact or collect funds from this woman, and instead in unlawfully retaining $650 from me. He keeps referring to this situation as a “roommate dispute” even though HE is equally as complicit in stealing money from me. I went to enormous lengths to alert him to the fact that the terms of his lease were being broken. I provided him with all the information he could possibly need to collect funds from the illegal tenant but he has a flagrant record of failing to take action. I am owed $650 for rent that I paid for the month of May to Neville C Johnson, even though he was made aware of the fact that somebody else was actually living there. I would like to know when I can expect a resolution.Desired Settlement: I want to know when I can expect a lawful refund of $650 for rent that I paid, while Neville Johnson was aware that somebody else was actually living in the residence.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir or Madam I am responding to the above referencedcomplaint from [redacted], [redacted] sublet an apartment through our firmfrom the original roommate in a lease of a two bedroom apartment with oneroommate remaining. She took occupancy of the unit 11/2013 and resided in theapartment with the remaining roommate until a dispute between the roommatesarose and she elected to move out of the apartment around the end of April2014. She understood her responsibilities as to the terms of her sublease whichended 7/31/2014 and stated that she would obtain a new subtenant for the unitfor the remaining term of the lease. [redacted] provided applicants to hercurrent roommate, as to the number and circumstances I am not aware. Theremaining tenant stated that none of the individuals which she communicatedwith were either unacceptable as roommates or did not follow through with theapartment in May 2014 the end of the semester. Our office did receive oneapplication for possession June 1,2014 which was unacceptable due to theremaining tenant feeling uncomfortable with a larger dog and her little dog.The owner also found the applicant unacceptable due to the size of the dog, 70Ibs.. My office received no other applications. As for the condition of the unit, she foundit acceptable and resided in the apartment from 11/1/2013 to 4/2014 until adispute arose between the roommates regarding a dog destroying a rug and unpaidutility bills. The electricity was cut off by the remaining roommate at thebreaker panel, which I went down and turned back on for [redacted] and wasfirst told of her issues with her roommate. The water situation occurred when awater bill was not received by our office and the water was cut off. When itwas reported by the tenants the invoice was paid and the water was restored asquickly as the city would accommodate. [redacted] reported to our office thatwhen she revisited the apartment in May 2014 she found furniture in her oldbedroom and felt that the roommate had rented the apartment without ourknowledge. I went to the apartment and inspected the unit and found somefurniture in the bedroom but no clothing in the closet. When I contacted theremaining tenant she stated that a friend had temporally left some furniturethere for a short period of time while she moved from one apartment to anotherand was not residing there and that she had loaned her money to help pay herbills. I informed [redacted] as to what the remaining tenant stated and shesaid she was not telling the truth and placed a stop payment on her June 2014rent check which was returned to our office marked unpaid and did not pay theJuly 2014 rent. [redacted] retained possession of her keys to the apartmentuntil they were received by our office by mail July 3D, 2014. Atthe end of the lease no charges were deducted from the lease for neitherreturned check charges nor late fees to the account. The original deposit wascredited to the outstanding rent for June & July 2014 and our officereturned $650.00 to [redacted] for her portion of the deposit, due to thesituation with the roommate and to assist her with her medical situation. Wewill not return any May 2014 rent to her as that the rent was due and sheretaining possession of the property, no sub tenant was found and no keys werereceived by our office from her until 7/30/2014 giving her continuous access tothe apartment. I am sorry that she had a problem with her roommate and she feltshe needed to leave the apartment, due to the dispute with her roommate. But wefeel no obligation to return any May 2014 rent.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

I cannot make this any more clear: Neville C Johnson accepted money from me while my room was being illegally sublet. I provided him with the name, phone number, and email address of the illegal tenant, as well as a copy of my correspondence with her in which she clearly and unabashedly admits to living in the residence. Neville C Johnson has made no attempt to collect from her, which is characteristic of his tendency to do the bare minimum. It is easier for him to unlawfully hold on to $650 dollars from me so that he doesn’t have to extend himself to collect funds from whom the money is actually owed. Neville C Johnson’s response when I informed him of the illegal tenant was an unmitigated failure. He did not show up promptly to inspect the residence as he stated, instead he showed up weeks later to investigate. It does not matter that [redacted] claimed that a friend had left some furniture there because [redacted] undisputedly admitted to living in the residence and Neville Johnson knows that. I provided him with a photo of the check that [redacted] wrote to [redacted] for rent and utilities in May. I provided him with photos of the room and bathroom in use, with both a full closet and a large pile of laundry. Bottom line: [redacted] illegally sublet the room, Neville C Johnson undeniably knew about it, he did nothing to reconcile the situation, and he has never made any efforts to seek the proper restitution from either [redacted] or [redacted]. I will be providing extensive documentation directly to the Revdex.com including all photos and email correspondence including that shared between he and my mother. This is inexcusable behavior from an adult, let alone an established business. When can I expect a refund for the month of May?

Review: This business has terrible service. I have called 3 times in the past week with no reply. There is a light out in the stairwell of the building, which means the tenants cannot see the stairs or the doors to get into the apartments. There is also visible mold in the building, which makes it hard for me to breathe. I was told that the mold was fixed, but the tenants said it appeared that the mold was just painted over.Desired Settlement: I want the light replaced in the stairwell. I also want a full inspection of the building for mold problems and air quality, and I want the filter in the air conditioner replaced. If the mold is not completely removed, I want my deposit back and I would like to exit my sublease contract so I can find somewhere else to live. I understand that the business is busy, but this lack of care for tenants is unacceptable.

Business

Response:

We have spoken to the tenant and have made a partial inspection of the property. The property hallway is maintained by a cleaning service that had not replaced light bulbs at the top of the stairs. New bulbs have been installed. The HVAC system had been serviced in April of this year and a new filter was installed and three new filters were left for the tenants to use. The subtenant was unaware of this and not told by her roommates. While we were there at the property we replaced the filter for the tenant with one of the new filters left in the unit. We inspected the unit for mold damage in the areas for which we had access. The tenants have installed locks on three of the bedroom doors and we do not have a key. We found an area in the dining area bay window that had some damage from some rain around the window. We have issued a repair of that area with a service company. I have spoken with the subtenant and conveyed all of this information. [redacted]

Review: We leased an apartment from this company in August 2011. Our daughter, a student at [redacted], resided in it for two years, along with roommates who were also listed on the lease. They vacated the property in July 2013 and left a forwarding address where the deposit could be returned. It is now December 2013 and we have not received our security deposit, nor any explation whatsover regarding the deposit. My daughter and her roommate have phoned the business numerous times to inquire about it and were always told that [redacted] was "unavailable, but would call back," which he never did. My daughter also personally visited [redacted]'s office and was told he was not in and that she would receive a call. The receptionist could not/would not answer any questions at all about the missing deposit. Last week, I called [redacted]'s office myself and after introducing myself very politely, was told that, "[redacted] is on a phone call and will be tied up for a very long time." I left my number and said that I'd be available all day long and would he please call me. He has not called me back, nor has any explanation about the missing deposit been received from him. The amount of the deposit is $1,200, which is a lot of money for college students to do without. Our lease clearly states that after the lease is expired, the deposit would be resolved in 30 days. We feel that [redacted] is intentionally dodging us and has no intention of refunding any part of the deposit. He has never said that there was any problem with the condition of the property, nor has he furnished any written explanation.Desired Settlement: [redacted] needs to refund the entire $1,200 security deposit. So much time has passed, that any complaints he may decide to make about the condition of the property would not be credible. There have been other students living in this property now for at least four months and any existing damage would be theirs. My daughter painted and cleaned prior to move-out. Thank you.

Business

Response:

I spoke with the company and they stated that a check [redacted] in the amount of $[redacted] on September 10, 2013 and was made out to all of the roommates.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Review: My daughter has Asthma for several months requested mold in bathroom be fixed also floors in kitchen coming apart and wood underneath dry rotted, bug problem, plumbing issues and poor Hvac system u able to cool upstairs none of these things have been done even after repair men came in and diagnosed what needed to be doneDesired Settlement: I am moving out per my 30 day notice keep deposit and let's be done with each other

Business

Response:

Good Afternoon, This is a response to the complaint by [redacted] regarding the property at [redacted]. [redacted] and her husband have resided at the property since 5/25/2012 with two additional people and their two Pit bull dogs. We have always responded to their maintenance requests in a timely manner and as access was permitted. We have worked diligently with them under the direction of the owner regarding repairs and as well as rental payments. They have been consistently behind on their rent and feel that this complaint comes from our actions to collect rent. We have even accepted predated checks and deposited at her direct authorization in an effort to work with the tenant. As of this date they are in arrears in rent and a preliminary court date has been set. [redacted]

followed up for a lot of number of times the security deposit that was not returned/refunded for the lease completed last June 13, 2013 by my daughter and her roommate but still the answer we received from the secretary was "I don't know" and " I'll forward the concern To [redacted] or "we'll check on it". This company should be responsible enough to return the security deposit in a timely manner.