Communities

BEWARE! Do Not Live at Chestnut Hall Apartments! EXTREMELY POOR SERVICES. Chestnut Hall Apartments are a nightmare, and I cannot stress this enough--STAY AWAY! The building is old, rundown, and poorly maintained. It's a constant hassle. The heating doesn't work in winter, the toilets leak, the walls are cracked and damaged, and couriers get stolen. Yet, despite all these and several other major issues, when you move out, the management will do everything they can to SCAM you. They'll charge you for damage you didn't cause and services they never provided properly. No matter how many proofs you share with them of your innocence. This place is a total rip-off, and their "Move-out Team" is a master and very well trained at finding ways to KEEP ALL YOUR DEPOSIT and HARASS you. If you're an international resident, be especially cautious--they seem to target people like you, as many others have experienced the same issue. Please read other reviews as well. Living here is a MASSIVE RISK, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Do not make the mistake of moving in--RUN FAR AWAY from Chestnut Hall!

The heat is preset for each unit. The average winter temp was 88 in our unit. Our emails were ignored. We had to run the ac to live. Upon move out 2 weeks ago, we were hit with a $100 extra fee for "wall damage". Two years there, over $30,000 in rent and a fee for a dot on the wall. RUN RUN RUN. Better yet,contact me for more info. Mike [email protected]

Worst living experience possible. On the outside the building looks alright. The leasing agents are very nice and are more than willing to get the $50 sign bonus after you sign your lease. Since I have been living there, my packages have been getting lost at the concierge and every time I told them, they said another company manages the concierge and Aimco cannot be held responsible. The building has three elevators. I cannot remember the last time all three were functional. Roaches have been breeding and living in my apartment since I moved in, and I notified the leasing office on numerous occasions. They said someone will be there on Wednesday. That Wednesday never came. For the month of May, they started doing construction outside of my windows. They woke me up at 7am everyday and the noise was so bad that I had to leave my apartment until 5pm everyday until they left. After complaining many times, they gave me a $200 inconvenience credit. Oh, and the leasing agent said: "My regional property manager and myself have added a credit of $200 to your account. All he asks for in return is all 5's on the rest of the surveys you receive from us! Let me know if you have any additional questions." The problem is that Aimco does not understand who their clientele is. We are mostly a highly educated bunch who are here to further our education, so the last thing they can do is buy our opinion with $200.Now that I am moved out, I received my statement and not only do I not understand where the $200 credit went, I am baffled that I was charged $200 for painting damages. I wonder how much paint they can purchase with $200. They think they can charge us left and right and not be held responsible. I am so enraged by this company.

Beware students! Worst property. Don't make the mistake of living here. They will provide you with a low quality apartment and then keep your security deposit to get everything repaired.

They hide a lot of extra charges and aren't clear about it when you're touring the place. For instance, you split water for the building and the bill can get up to $40 even if you're living alone. You also pay for utilities on your own and you have to buy/install/pay for your own wifi. They also have multiple charges for late fees, using a card, laundry, or getting locked out of your room temporarily. It's actually ridiculous. So, whatever rent they supposedly advertise is much higher in reality. There are so many other places in University City when rent is 'utilities included' so I'd watch out for those instead.

Deposit refund is complex and unreasonable. The check is lost on the way. They asked for complex procedures for having a new check. Terrible experience. Bye

Terrible experience. Do not recommend. Do not pay for parking. I got the parking pass from the apartment and there were so many occasions when I came back to the parking lot at night and there were no parking spots left. The apartment doesn't check if anyone outside the community is parking. The office also refused to give a refund or do anything about it. Hot water was out during the winter for like a week straight. Not a livable environment if you have to shower at least once a week.

TL;DR- Don't walk...RUN from this place! I've experienced terrible communication from management and a collapsed ceiling (three times!!!). I've only been in my apartment for two months. One of the worst decisions of my life to move here at Chestnut Hall. Renters beware!! Note: I was later asked to remove my review by management (Kyle) over the phone on August 1 since my ceiling was "fixed". SPOILER ALERT! My ceiling collapsed again soon after on August 23 soaking my bed and belongings. My review will stay. Please continue reading so you can save yourself the stress and the anxiety. Thank you. ----- I agree with the previous reviews (Emily, Chi, etc.) regarding the management and the apartment conditions being terrible, to be honest. I've experienced the SAME EXACT things as them in less than two months. I can't imagine how the remaining 10 months of my lease will go. I would give this place negative infinity stars if I could. The amount of stress that I've experienced in this new city due to the mismanagement of this complex is NOT worth it. My apartment ceiling was cracked and part of it was on the floor upon move-in. I was told by Kyle on July 9 that this was a "cosmetic issue" and "not structural". Clearly this was a leak with water damage and not "just cosmetic". I complained and it was "fixed" with just plaster and paint. However, the source of the leak was NOT addressed. The next day after it was "fixed" with plaster and paint, the rest of the ceiling began to crack and peel. I called and messaged for my ceiling to be fixed again. I put in a service requests. After upper management got involved, extensive repairs were made. However, my ceiling collapsed again in the same location one month later directly above my bed. The management DOES NOT respond to emails, texts, or calls; countless messages went unanswered after the lease was signed. Don't let them pressure you into signing the lease! After moving in, the leasing company and maintenance's constant excuse for ignoring you is the multiple move-ins/move-outs every week. Please please take your time and explore other options. I am genuinely begging you to reconsider living here. It's pretty upsetting and disheartening when you move into a "new" apartment, see your apartment in this condition, and then get basically zero help when you are paying hundreds...over $1200 for rent. It adds to the stress of moving to a new city. Find another place. UPDATE #1: My ceiling collapsed in my studio apartment after repeated requests for the leak to be addressed were ignored over a period of 7 days. The issue with my ceiling was not addressed until higher-ups got involved. Considering other renters have similar experiences to me (ie. poor communication from management, leaking ceilings, etc.), this is concerning. UPDATE #2: (August 22) It's been about 30 days since my ceiling was "repaired". My ceiling is leaking AGAIN and is on the verge of collapsing AGAIN. This time my bed and belongings were damaged from the leak. My bed and all of my clothes that I own were soaked with dirty disgusting rain water. This has been a terrible experience. UPDATE #3: (August 23)My ceiling collapsed AGAIN. I would not be surprised if more comes down. I could not sleep because of the constant dripping from the ceiling. I called the emergency maintenance hotline at 2:01 AM on August 23 and as I update this at 7:17 AM NO ONE has contacted me. Why even have a 24/7 emergency hotline (which is offsite by the way) if no one is available to help 24/7? UPDATE #4: (August 24)Maintenance placed plaster and paint on the ceiling. One day later, the paint is bubbling with emerging water stains surround the repair. I can't wait for the rainfall. I hear exposed concrete is all the rage. I'll update this once my ceiling collapses again.

absolutely horrid. dozens of maintenance issues, floods, bugs, unprofessional behaviors from management and maintenance men. i did not enjoy living here at all. it's funny how they claim to be so cooperative and understanding. all men do is lie.

I have to change my review after I was billed $100 for utilities which I was told it was included in the rent. The place is really not worthy of money after I've seen my friends' places around. Be carful about what they tell you what's included, read every word of your contract!!!!!'

there are swastikas in the tiles on the floor in the lobby. i am appalled that they haven't removed them.

I would have given 0 star if there was an option. Worst experience ever! There would be power outage and water shut-off for whole day for 2-3 times in a month due to poor maintenance. The move out experience is a shocker!!! They would never refund a deposit and show charges that are not necessary. Regular wear and tear (No Damage) is charged from the refund to makeup fake charges. It was cleared during move-in that there will be no charges for minor wear & tear in the apartment. The property Manager has no knowledge of anything regarding the processes and misguides.

On the surface, Chestnut Hall would probably warrant a 3.5-4 star review if not for the management/$6B market-cap public company that runs the place (AIMCO-Apartment Investment and Management Co Real Estate Trust). The management company turns what could be a 4 star experience into a zero star experience through potentially illegal, rent-seeking activities which, tbh, hurts them much more than helps them in the long-run. With a few key changes, Chestnut Hall could be a great place! But, as it is today, I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for an apartment.The place: the building/facility is in good condition and an excellent example of the 1920s art-deco style. The renovated rooms, soon to be all, are in decent shape (especially when compared to dorms) and the common areas are kept relatively clean. As everyone has said, the maintenance staff is top-notch and will quickly fix any issue you have. There is always a doorman to accept packages and usually someone in the leasing office for any issues during business hours. There are only a few small changes I would make to the facility-1. There needs to be a computer system for notification of packages as such a system is a cheap, easy way to notify tenants of when they get mail. 2. The water temperature for the shower changes WILDLY and without notice which is a huge pain (literally!) as you can go from a comfortable 90F to 150F (1st degree burns!) or cold/ambient temperature perhaps 5-10 times in a 15 minute shower. Chestnut Hall needs a better water heater or something to fix this. 3. The freight elevator/trash chute area needs to be cleaned more regularly + the elevator oiled.Overall though, in comparison to a run-down Penn/Drexel dorm, Chestnut Hall is a much better facility to live in.The management: the management of Chestnut Hall has chosen to charge every single penny they can out of tenants for short-term profit at the cost of creating many a negative experience for tenants/a 1.5 star average review on Yelp which is a terrible long-term position. They did this to me in the following ways-1. I was quoted $1508 for my apartment when I looked at it, began the lease process. When I got to the contract a month later, it was $1536 instead. They know you aren't going to change your mind for $24, so they hit me with this BS move.2. Utilities, Utilities. Utilities.Chestnut Hall/their utility vendor ConServ absolutely gouges residents on utilities. They use several different strategies for this. Firstly, they use a "communal" system in which they just divide the total utilities of the building per resident/square foot. This system has many issues. It means that you are paying the utilities of the ~10 staff that live in the building, that Chestnut Hall is paying no utilities on any communal areas/leasing office/lobby etc. instead billing these to residents (very unusual), that you are paying for irresponsible residents who don't report leaking toilets, turn off lights, blast the heat, keep windows open in winter, etc., and that you effectively have no recourse to challenge utility charges as there are no individual meters to look at. Secondly, Chestnut Hall lies to potential tenants that the utilities will be "roughly $100/month". On average, my utilities were $200 and some months it was as high as $400. These ABSURDLY high utilities for a one bedroom apartment are the result of the communal system mentioned above and, in all likelihood, broken/fixed/crooked utility meters. Even with the communal system, the numbers simply do not add up with Chestnut Hall claiming to have monthly utilities of $250,000-$350,000. I have run maintenance for several large properties so I know that the actual figure for the building would be in the five digit range, not six+. This can only mean that either there are huge maintenance issues being overlooked (e.g. gas or water leak) or that someone has rigged the system.Thirdly,to add insult to injury, Chestnut Hall charges YOU for THEIR utility billing provider. In other words, they arranged to have ConServ pay PECO for electric, PGW for water+gas, the City of Philadelphia for trash+sewer, etc. out of convenience. There is nothing stopping Chestnut Hall from either having residents pay these utility providers directly or collecting the funds from residents and doing so themselves. Instead, out of convenience, they have chosen to have ConServ do it. This is their decesion, but they charge each resident the $15/month THEY are supposed to pay Conserv for said deal. Not only is this practice completely unprecedented in the renting market, it is truly adding insult to injury to have to pay for Chestnut Hall's administrative costs on top of a $400 utility bill.Fourthly, Chestnut Hall has the tendency to DOUBLE-BILL utility charges (claiming it was a mistake).3. Your deposit will NOT be returned-100% guaranteed! They charge $200 for painting, $100 for cleaning to EVERY tenant at move-out!FIX THE MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

It charged my studio apartment for a $195 electric bill!? Even I am using the same electrical device every month. Compared to last month, it is unusually high. I am afraid that it is a fraud. 3/1/2022 Monthly, Electric, 12/30/21-01/31/22 , Conserv, Acct # 28344097 $195.32

Horrible place. Do I even need to repeat what the other reviews are saying? Way over charged utilities and you'll never get your deposit back. I spent about 200 or more on utilities there and at my new place, where I pay individually it's about 40/month and the rent is less expensive. My habits haven't changed at all. Don't rent from here, absolutely go somewhere else. Oh, also in the lease they try to get you to waive your right to take them to court "over matters regarding the lease" and to go through arbitration instead. So that is one last thing that sucks here.

They charged me $4800 at move-out because I had to break my lease due to a last minute move to California. They have absolutely absurd and out of the norm lease terms which they don't make completely clear when signing. They need a 2 month move-out notice and charge another 2 month's worth of rent as penalty (sublet charge) on early termination of the lease. With all the hidden charges and fees, it seems as if this community is taking unfair advantage of students at University City. On top of the exploitative lease terms and fines they are also pretty low on ethics. Before my move-out I connected them to a tenant who would take over my apartment on a sublease. She ended up not taking my sublease as she wanted to start her lease a month later. So she signed a new lease with them for a similar apartment. But they explicitly made sure she got a different apartment from mine so that they could charge me with 2 month's of rent as penalty (sublet charge). They did that despite the fact that I found them a new tenant. They have warned me that they will report me to a collection agency if I don't pay the balance which is more than $3000 on top of my security deposit. Chestnut hall/Aimco will do anything to extract money from your pockets. I wonder how far they can go with all this bad word they are earning. No wonder they have to hire jugglers on all street corners of Chestnut hall to spin "Now leasing" boards around their bodies.

Decent accommodations but overall not worth it.

I'm not the kind to write reviews or sensationalize them when I do. Chestnut Hall took our whole deposit upon leaving the building...and then charged us an extra $250 on top of that! Mind-blowing. We asked why. They gave us an itemized list of charges. Some were fair, but they really took it too far by charging us $100 or so to shampoo the carpet in our living room (we didn't spill anything at all on the carpet), $50 for garbage disposal (we literally left two cereal boxes), and $200 for repainting (we left 3 scuffs that were the type you could more or less rub out). They promised to send us pictures of these items for months and never did so, despite our repeated requests. Then they blamed us for dragging the dispute out for so long. They were horrendously rude to us, hung up the phone on us, and refused to let us speak to anyone higher up the chain. They effectively issued us with an ultimatum: pay now or we're sending it to debt collection. Third party debt collection is obviously not the appropriate forum to adjudicate the validity of charges - it's the forum to collect the charges, assumed to be valid. But they know this threatens to damage our credit and are presumably relying on that as leverage. I don't like it when apartment buildings like this bully tenants into giving them extra money on the way out. Absolutely no class at all.This place is obviously run by a bunch of amateurs or people with no regard for customer service. I would advise anyone looking at Chestnut Hall to look elsewhere.

One of the worst leasing experiences. I went from living a block away, and in this place they charged me up to 5 times more than the previous one for services, obviously they don't tell you about these high prices before signing. They lost a table that didn't fit through the door and didn't respond. And to top it off, the building is full of cockroaches and the hallways are filthy.

Realized I never posted a review when I moved out in June 2022 (lived there for 5 years). I'd like to give 0 stars but unfortunately cannot. Multiple threats to my safety (three times complete strangers coming up to my unit and banging on the door, demanding to be let in. One actually started kicking and almost broke down my door; another instance of a front desk employee of the building entering my friend's unit, asking to stay there long-term, and when my friend said "no", refusing to leave, causing my friend to eventually move out) Part of my shower ceiling literally hanging down, with pieces of metal falling into my shower precluding me from using it. Multiple emergency maintenance requests placed, and even after speaking with the property manager at the time (Kyle) directly and he told me he would call someone to come immediately, it did not happen. When the work was finally performed and I filled out a survey saying I wasn't completely satisfied because they left my shower a mess, I received verbal harassment from the maintenance team over the phone while I was at work Multiple packages stolen, in part due to front desk staff negligence. Photo evidence and timestamps of packages of meals and groceries placed on the front desk counter, with the employee working at that time saying, "I would have seen it if it came, and that package did not come at that time. That photo isn't right." Also says, "Well I have no way of knowing if the right person is taking anything. I don't check." This was also the same employee who would nap at the concierge desk at around 3pm every day, one day while over a dozen people walked right by him onto the elevators. Third-party company tracking sticky material all over my kitchen floor which I attempted to clean up as best as I could; I also notified the property manager about this Cracks in ceilings reported to the maintenance team and their response being, "That doesn't need to be fixed". Air conditioner unit blowing hot air and dirt into my bedroom including onto my bed; the maintenance employee removed the AC unit and placed it in my shower (which he also left a mess and did not clean up after himself) just to clean the filters and put back the same AC unit. This didn't fix the problem The freight elevator being triple-booked the day I moved out despite being reserved and confirmed 10 weeks ahead of time with Kyle Sanoy (who thankfully is no longer working at Chesnut Hall; I assume he was fired because he was inept at best and unscrupulous at the worst, but ). This added 1.5 hours to the total time I needed the movers for, which I also obviously had to pay for. Agent who initially leased me the wrong apartment (he said that a unit I had looked at previously was exactly the same as that which I was signing a lease for, but of course it wasn't; completely different floor plan and square-footage). He also said there would be a gym put in within 6 months of me moving there (which was summer 2017) Charged me a $277.70 repainting fee, but my credit card was actually charged $555.40 (charged me twice). Never responded when I pointed this out. All of this was relayed in an email to management at move-out, with no response. Also, my utility bill for the month AFTER I moved out was nearly $200, which was more than it was my final month actually living in the apartment. Also charged me for marks on the wall OUTSIDE my apartment in the hallway

Unfortunately giving zero stars is not an option. I highly suggest to anyone looking to move here to look elsewhere. The only good thing about this apartment for me was the convenience in getting to class at Penn. I had issues from the very beginning. When I moved in the shower head was not working properly and I had to schedule maintenance to fix it. A few days later I had a problem with bugs in the bedroom. A few days after that the refrigerator was leaking. Fortunately maintenance for the building was very resourceful and these problems, and the subsequent maintenance issues were fixed in a decent amount of time. I still shouldn't have had any of these problems within the first two weeks of moving in.The residents in this building are extremely rude. People will not bother to hold the elevator when you're struggling with packages, nor will they speak when you are attempting to be friendly. There was incident back in the spring where some residents thought it would be a good idea to trigger the fire alarm. At 2am. During finals. Really? The entire building had to be evacuated while the fire department came to inspect. This entire ordeal took over an hour to be resolved.Don't bother ordering anything online or having friends or family send you packages. They will be lost in the disastrous mail system. Although most of the people that sit at the concierge desk are very friendly and helpful, no one was able to help me when I had packages mysteriously "lost" more than once. I was very lucky in that I was able to have companies redeliver my packages to an alternative address. This is very inconvenient and management needs to develop a different system for package pick up or be willing to reimburse residents for lost items.Chestnut Hall is a decent building, however it is not worth the hefty price for the condition of some the apartments. Additionally, there is no reason that the utilities charges should be as high as they are. The worst part of this already horrid experience was moving out early, only to find out later that Chestnut Hall is charging me $300 for ridiculous "paint damage" fines, and utilities for over a month and a half that I did not live in the apartment. The apartment was way cleaner than it was when I moved in, I put nothing on the walls, and barely stayed inside long enough to do any "damage". This company is preying on students with the outrageous rents and fees. It seems convenient and worth it at first, but it is not.Seriously, moving here was one of the greatest mistakes I've ever made. I regret it so much and get upset just thinking about it. Please, if you value how you spend your money and the space in which you live, DO NOT MOVE HERE!!!

My heater has been shut off for over a year and yet I am continuously being charged insane amounts for gas-- something I cannot possibly use. I was told I would pay at most 80 bucks for utilities and have been paying over 150, again for something I cannot even use (gas makes up most of the bill). The worst part is the mouse problem. I have lost track of how many mice I have seen and pests. I keep my apartment clean but nothing helps except the brief period of time where winter kills them off. There was a good period of time (especially during November 2017-January 2018, and occasionally throughout my stay here) where the fire alarm was going off constantly. The best part is that it would go off at 2am and I more than once had to stumble outside half asleep in pajamas to 30 degree weather. I had to uber to another place because I couldn't get rest or study. Other reasons not to live here include the loud noises from the fraternity houses and bars located near by. There are a whole slew of issues one could only fully grasp by living here. From reading other reviews it looks like I can also expect another unpleasant experience when I move out. Which I am doing once my lease expires. Unfortunately, it also looks like they lied to several others about the utilities. I pay on time, I am a respectful neighbor, all I ask is for fairness or at minimum basic decency. UPDATE: My heater was never fixed. I recently moved out and I was charged a total of $410 for damages. The community asked for my address to return my security deposit but in reality it was to make sure they could charge me an extra amount after my security deposit was consumed by my final utility bill (It was $165 even though I was out of town for most of the month so I don't know how it came out so high) and the $410 move out charge. This is the break down of my move out charge: $250 for painting, $75 for kitchen damages, and $85 for cleaning charges. I spoke to the management of chestnut hall to no avail. Super combative. I told them that I understand the apartment needs to be cleaned but the charges were egregious. The damages they were charging me for were normal wear and tear. I was told when first leasing the apartment that the community understands people live in the units and that they would cover normal lived in conditions/normal wear and tear. The person I spoke to immediately shot back "that's just hearsay, I wasn't working here at the time so I don't know what you were told". Very defensive and never denied that their salesmen tell people that to coax them into leasing. There is so much turnover in the leasing office that management is able to deny with ease that they ever made any guarantees. There is only one way to describe this type of conduct: sleazy and lacking integrity. In addition: During my last 3 months at chestnut hall I had problems receiving mail. I have type 1 diabetes and was receiving care packages from family and the type one community. I wasn't able to reliably receive medication and informative materials about my condition (as I was recently hospitalized and diagnosed with my condition) during this time. I was charged $80 for not picking up my mail even though it was never sent to me. I had to contact the third party (Luxerone) and track each individual package/carrier to find my missing mail. I was refunded the charge since they had opened a new account without my permission using one of my old emails. It was very frustrating that Chestnut Hall decided to start using this third party that was very inefficient and required you to submit your credit card so they could charge you if you did not pick up mail within 3 days (and sometimes charge you for opening an account without your permission). I received mail a month late as a result of this and spent soooo much time on this that I did not have with doctors appointments and studying for a very important exam.

DO NOT LIVE HERE EVER~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today I was stuck in elevator and I am cluster phobic. I called for help they answered and took 1hr to open the door. my mouth was getting dried up and couldn't breath while they were laughing making jokes which I could hear from inside. like this " haha i bet 5 million dollars that he is faking" which was the manager that was making this joke. when they finally open the door they were like hey you get up~!!! she didn't even ask if i need medical tension....also there were like 5foot step and they were like get out didn't even try to help me, Dana the manager asked me what apt do you live and I didn't answer because you know that that mean I probably get kicked out of this apt. They are really Fing bad people i know it~!!!!! a two face mf~!!!!!!!!!!!!!! looking at his pictures lol it does not even look like this. they need to go down...~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope I could give 0 star. They are insanely charging a lot for utilities, and also charged me a lot when I moved out. I was always keeping my apartment clean and cleaned up before I moved out. It was even cleaner than before I moved in. The building is on the great location, but the Amico company is not recommended at all.

This place is a scam. We had paint chipping off the ceiling and walls the whole time we were here, and were charged a $275 paint damage fee at move out. This is on top of the $500 security deposit that was taken out as well. The whole place needed a paint makeover, not my fault. No one contacted me to do a walk through before move out either. Unbelievable....after taking it to the next level the charge was finally dropped. But just a hassle on all ends.

I do not recommend living here at all. When I toured this place the manager really sold it to me and made it seem great, but that is not the reality at all. Before I signed my lease I was told my utilities and amenities would be a certain amount, but after a few months of living here the price began increasing a ridiculous amount. Worst of all is that they say they charge per square foot so even if my heater was not working all month I still got charged $90 for it. After a while they really rip you off. This is my second year here and it has been way worse this year. I am charged hundreds of dollars more than last year. I really want to understand how they come up with these numbers because I think they are very unreasonable. Secondly, it is not secure at all. There is no lock at the front door and security are told they can't touch anyone or use any power if anyone enters. Security also can't carry any weapons not even pepper spray. For me that is not security that is a receptionist. I almost got attacked in the lobby by a homeless person who entered the building, police were called and everything. I asked that they put a lock or access code in the front door but nothing was done. I feel that the management team does not care about its residents at all and only cares about the money. This month I was charged double for almost everything, $190 for electricity, $100 for water..etc. I am waiting for them to fix this issue and adjust my bill to the correct and honest amount because there is no way I am paying $300 more than usual for no reason (let me add heater was not even working for me for most of the month and I don't use that much water or electricity). Another example of getting ripped off is that I was charged so much for utilities when I was doing a summer internship abroad and my place was empty nothing was being used! I can't wait to move out.

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. The way the leasing office conducts its work is embarrassing. Horrible communication and always sneaking fees by. They don't tell you about them until your charged and trying to get in touch with them is close to impossible. The maintenance team is the only saving grace of this building....extremely friendly and actually care about the residents.

The WORST. DO NOT RENT HERE. I repeat, DO NOT RENT HERE. The leasing office has no clue whats going on and can't explain these "charges" to someone in a simple form, theres all these hidden fees and other random charges that aren't included in a normal lease, like renters insurance. I just moved out of my studio there, which I was overpaying $1250 a month for a 400 square foot apartment. Management sucks, I used to have to waive the guys down in the building and ask them to check stuff out for me because they would never respond to my requests.UTILITIES. You know you basically pay for other residents utilities on the floor. I was charge $110 for gas in my apartment in the month of May. There was nothing in my apartment gas related, no appliances and I never turned on the heat there once since heat flowed out of the vents all the time. When I moved in I was told it would just be a $500 security deposit. Then they said "HEY! its $1750. The residents are all students. No lie, its pretty much dorm living. I was told when I moved in there was going to be a gym on the second floor coming to Chestnut Hall, never happened. The coffee shop was also supposed to come in place in September 2016 and I think went in around March 2017. The living conditions were awful when I moved in, the rugs in the hallway are probably from the 70s or back when it was a hotel and all the AC/Heat vents and shower pipes are outdated and in the worst condition.Please save yourself a headache and DO NOT RENT HERE. Its all a lie on the website and I wouldn't recommend anyone to waste their money on a dump like this.

Apart from abhorrently bad service and laughably small room. It's not worth the money you pay for rent .

TL;DR: don't come to this apartment, even if it seems cheap and liveable. Management here do not genuinely care about residents, and they are over-charging everything to keep the apartment barely functioning. 1 star is only for the location, as it is within the university city, and has accessible markets and foods. The charging is extremely absurd, there are many hidden charges that they will not tell you honestly when you visit the apartment or ask the management. They told me that the monthly utilities will be around $130 per month, but in my one-year rental, I received over $200 monthly utilities nearly every month and even $300 for 2-3 months. They will tell you that this is because the utility fee is based on the average utility usage of the whole building, but that can never explain the difference between 130 and 300! When the (unclear) monthly utility bills come out, you have no choice but to pay it. Complaining to the management does not make any difference. That's just a small example of the difference between how they advertised the apartment and what you will experience in this apartment. My monthly rent is $1575, but every month after adding on the utilities, the rent can jump to over $1800, even close to $1900. If you live here, you would think you only need to pay around $1700, but you will end up paying over $100 more every month. Just think about wherever else good apartments you can live in with $1800+. Also when I move out, they charged me $475, including $155 cleaning fee and $320 damage fee. I am always a clean person and I keep my room tidy, I cannot think of a damage that costs over $300. Don't ever dream of getting your $500 deposit back because they will use many different fancy "fees" to deduct the deposit that should be returned to you. A BIG DISASTER is the fire alarm here, as they can ring in any unexpected time, and the loudness can disrupt everything, my ears are punctured when the alarm rings. The fire alarm even went on 5 times in a week, including one time at 1AM! That was during an exam week! I have no words to say about this apartment's old facilities and poor management. There are indeed not many cost-effective apartments in university city, but this apartment really does not deserve a try.

CONSIDER YOUR DEPOSIT GONE! They didn't give me my deposit back and l left the first of May and its now 6 JUNE!!!!

I have to say this is the worst experience that I have ever had!!! Basically, they lied to me that the utilities are included in the rent but then I was billed $100 for such a tiny studio, which I was away from the home for a whole week. It was ridiculous... Especially after I've viewed some more apartments around. It's seriously not worthy of your $$$$!!! Comparing to my friends' places at 3737 or in downtown, this place is just so over priced. Be honesty don't live here.

I was highly disappointed with my experience living here the last year. My ceiling fell through due to water leaks over 5 times and I experienced over 15 separate leaks in different areas of my apartment. The building is extremely old and not maintained appropriately, none of my damages were properly repaired. I also did not place a single nail in my apartment and was still charged $250 for my bedroom to be repainted after moving out. I would highly advise against living here to anyone. There are also a substantial amount of hidden fees that significantly increase the monthly rent.

STUDENTS: DO NOT LIVE HERE-- EXORBITANT EXIT FEES COST YOU $$$$I lived here with a roommate for 9 months in 2011-12. They have a clause in their leases (that they DO NOT point out to you) that requires you to give them 30 days notice before you intend to vacate, even if you are vacating in exact accordance with the terms of the lease you have signed. So because we failed to notify them that we intended to leave when we said we were going to leave in the first place, they charged us an extra $900 (the insufficient notice fee). When we moved out, we had a professional cleaning service clean the apartment, but when the final statement came, they said there were spots on the floors and a pile of trash from our apartment in the trash room (a public space) and they were billing us $200: $125 to pick up the trash and $75 for their house cleaning service. When we protested that the trash was not ours (and asked how they could attribute it to us since it was found in the middle of a public space), they admitted that it had come from a different unit but then said they had to steam clean our carpets (even though that had been part of the professional cleaning service we had hired) and insisted on charging us for that. The housecleaning service we used swears that they left the carpets and floors completely clean. After a week of my mother trying to discuss all these dishonest charges with the manager of the bldg, the manager abruptly said he refused to discuss it any more because my mother was not a party to the lease. Chestnut Hall is owned/operated by AIMCO, based in Denver, which is one of the country's largest owner/operators of apartment communities in the US with over 520 properties in 36 states. I would NEVER rent from an AIMCO property again and I am filing a complaint with the PA Attorney General. RENTERS BEWARE.

TENANT BEWARE - DO NOT LIVE HERE. This apartment is overpriced (erroneous fees) and unsafe. We had major apartment issues every other month. The ceiling in the stairwell collapsed due to landlord negligence of unattended mold (there was simply a layer of paint over the mold). I personally could not breath in this building for the entire lease term due to the mold and my respiratory allergies.My wife burned her skin in the shower because the water temperature would change without warning between scalding hot and freezing cold. The soap holder in the bathroom collapsed TWICE because the landlord had caulking over two layers of tile in the shower. My wife almost broke her foot when the tile fell, which could have been an expensive visit to the emergency room. Again, this is an example of negligence by the landlord. The trash rooms were unsanitary (bugs and cockroaches) because the trash chute was blocked off for the entire lease term. We had a cracked window that was not fixed for the entire lease term, which made the apartment very cold in the winter. (We did not crack the window and we promptly notified the landlord in the first month.) Before move-in, the management team was unresponsive, and I could not coordinate very simple logistics such use of the freight elevator, parking, etc. The landlord threw out one of my packages without my permission or notification.The list of issues goes on. This apartment is unsanitary, unsafe, and the management team is frequently negligent. It is unfortunate that Aimco takes advantage of University students in this area. TENANT BEWARE - DO NOT LIVE HERE and please share this review with anyone considering Chestnut Hall. This building should be demolished by the city and the management team fired. Please share this post with anyone who reviews building construction codes. I wish I could give ZERO stars.

Definitely over-priced for what you're getting. The location is definitely nice and it's close to a lot of restaurants, banks, amenities but the building itself is old and so are the appliances. Apartment layouts are strange and often impractical and they will try to squeeze as much money from you as possible. They literally charge you to receive packages in building lockers and claim not to be responsible if you refuse to pay and your packages get stolen in main areas. They will also try to scam you with utilities since they set the temp in each unit throughout the year. Will also charge you for "apartment damage" and "cleaning fees" after you move out. Avoid if possible- you can 100% find better options for less if not the same price.

I hope I could give 0 star. They are insanely charging a lot for utilities, and also charged me a lot when I moved out. I was always keeping my apartment clean and cleaned up before I moved out. It was even cleaner than before I moved in.The building is on the great location, but the Amico company is not recommended at all.

I came back to change my review from 5 to 1 star. Yes the front desk people are nice, but the company behind it is evil. They lie about the price and lure you into the apartment. They charge you unreasonably high utility and charge you unexpectedly high fees and fees you should not be responsible for. The manager does tell you any of these beforehand they practically lie to you. When you move out, they will nickpick your apartment and charge you a crazy amount of cleaning fee. I have friends working in real-estate and they say it's 3 times the amount of usual cleaning fee. When you ask for a receipt to proof they actually spent that much on cleaning, they just ghost you and report you to the debt collectors. No one would go to court for a few hundred dollars so they always get their way. Basically you should expect overpay 300 per month than what they make you think you would be paying and don't expect to get your deposit back. In my case I lost more money than my deposit. So in sum yes the everyday workers are really nice because they are nice people but the managers whom you don't see are the evil manipulator behind. This company deserves to go bankrupt and the evil people behind should be punished .

UNSAFE NIGHTMARE WITH MANIPULATIVE MANAGEMENT. I have countless issues with this building, but to save your time I will share the biggest ones. My apartment, and several neighbors apartments, FLOODED WITH SINK SEWAGE. From our sink drains, our neighbors dirty moldy black water filled rotten food chunks flooded up and into our apartments. The 24/7 maintenance team took over 12 hours to respond every time in my apartment. Next, since there is so much flooding, THE CEILINGS AND LIGHTS COLLAPSE ON ITS RESIDENTS. I have multiple friends whose ceilings COLLAPSED ON THEM. But, why aren't you seeing more of that in the reviews? Well, when these things happen, and young students ask to move out, the management team texts you to call them, and then on that call with Kyle he says that YOU HAVE TO SIGN AN NDA TO MOVE OUT OF YOUR UNSAFE APARTMENT EARLY, AND PAY $2,000. And why are there all these positive reviews? Well Kyle calls everyone every week for the first few weeks to ask them to please leave 5 star reviews, and says that anything under 5 stars would be considered an unsatisfied review. I stayed until my lease ended and didn't sign anything, and now I am here to urge you for your own personal safety, DO NOT LIVE HERE. Edit 1/22/24- Susan! Still waiting to hear back from you! I will continue spreading the word on how dangerous Chestnut Hall is! :)

Do not recommend at all. Moved out in July 2020. Cons:- You will never see your deposit and they will try extra hard to squeeze whatever they can from you once you leave.- Apartments are old, layouts are weird, and are things are breaking down in general. The paint from my ceiling used to routinely fall onto the floor (which btw they charged me for from my deposit).- No amenities whatsoever. Don't know how the price is justified. They have a concierge but that doesn't provide any security as no one is every stopped from going up. - Other places around are much better with lesser rent. - Most apartments have a pretty terrible view. - No microwave or dishwasher in any apartment!!??Pros:- Good for quarantine during COVID times as no one was there. - Location is good for Penn students.

I cannot say enough negative things about Chestnut Hall and its management. My apartment ceiling was incredibly cracked upon move-in. It was only addressed when it came time to renew my lease. When it was "fixed," the maintenance worker admitted it was severe water damage that had not been addressed. Rather than addressing it, maintenance put a new layer of plaster and paint over top of the water damage, which quickly bubbled and cracked again. Aside from that, management does not respond to emails, texts, or calls; countless messages went unanswered. The management office also closes randomly without warning, despite their hours listed on the door. Further, trash was constantly outside of the trash shoot and left in the hallways. Lights were constantly out in the hallways and would be left that way for months. Even the lobby area has its damages, the ceiling is cracked and peeling. The lobby flooring even has swastikas on it in certain places. I understand it's an old building, but that should have been addressed awhile ago. The only upside to this apartment is that the security guards and cleaning workers are incredibly friendly and always willing to help.

The building itself is nice. The staff is friendly, the apartments are decent, the building itself is kept fairly clean. I didn't have any pest problems, and the few maintenance requests I did put in were attended to quickly. The rent is higher than is truly justifiable, and the utilities will gouge you for cash, but that's just a reality in University City.What was truly egregious was what happened on the way out. I left my apartment in decent shape, cleaned to the best of my ability and with practically no damage. Paint was chipping on the inside of the sink, but that happened gradually over time with running water due to the poor quality of the paint job, and had nothing to do with my use. Late in the lease, while I was away for several weeks, mold began to grow behind the wall in the closet due to a leaking pipe behind the wall (again, clearly not my doing). I was promised that I would not be held financially responsible for any damage that was not my fault, but I ended up getting hit with a $200 repainting fee in addition to the $85 full clean. When I asked for evidence for why I should pay for the repainting, they supplied pictures of the sink, the moldy closet, and numerous small smudges and discolorations that were so minor that I honestly hadn't noticed them -- they could easily have been there before I arrived, and probably were, seeing as I had almost no furniture to scuff the walls.When I pointed this out to the folks in corporate, they told me that they had already paid for the repaint, but they made no effort to dispute whether I was responsible. In essence, I was charged hundreds of dollars because they "needed a repaint", not because I had caused that need myself. If you decide to move here, make sure you are thorough in reporting "damage" to the apartment on move in. I would recommend a microscope.

Chestnut Hall SEEMS nice when you walk into the lobby, but once you get in the elevator the entire experience changes. The hallways look as uninviting as the motel where a horror film is likely to be set. The rooms are slightly better, but not much. I first moved to Chestnut Hall because I liked the more "home-y" feel of it compared to other upper end apartments in the area. I soon found out that the only homeliness to the apartment was if I was referencing a run-down home in the 1970's. The radiator had a steam leak for at least 3 months despite reporting it to maintenance. Therefore, the radiator did not turn off even in the summer months. Chestnut Hall maintenance believed the solution was to make a failed attempt at fixing this simple problem by cutting a hole in my wall, doing nothing to fix it, and then replace the cut-out with duct tape. The only time it actually was fixed was when the apartment below me started having water leak through the ceiling. This is just one testament to the mismanagement there. The rooms themselves are run-down and definitely do not constitute the tremendous price charged. Also, be very wary of how much you are charged. After signing my lease for a one bedroom, I found out that my one bedroom cost the same as another person's EXTREMELY larger one bedroom. Chestnut Hall will rip you off in every way possible. Therefore, management is not only incompetent, they are also money sucking scoundrels despite the ever so fake smiles they put on.I am sure whoever reads this will likely account the bitter review to a bad experience, but after talking to others in the building, I can assure you this sentiment is shared by others. If you are thinking of leasing from Chestnut Hall, I would advise you to think very hard before signing a 12-month commitment to waste your money.

There is a rodent problem. A large rodent problem. They also split water bill by apartment instead of person so if you live alone you have a ridiculous water bill. I am dreading the gas bill this month. The maintenance and security staff are friendly but the place needs to fix the rodent problem. For what you end up paying between rent, bills, laundry, and cable you could easily go to a significantly nicer apartment which is what I will be doing at first opportunity. Update. Still have a rodent problem. They don't do anything about it except plug holes so they can chew through my walls again. Update: I forgot to mention that the heating and cooling are building controlled which means that on this lovely 90 degree day we have heating and no cooling. My apartment has been below 78 all day.

I stayed here for two separate lease terms. I would start with the pros. The location is great and close to everything you may need for your daily life. Secondly, the maintenance staff is highly responsive. Often, our issues were resolved within hours. Third, the ambience of the apartment common areas are great - nice lobby, package service, music etc. A gym would make it complete, but I don't complain. I do miss the triple chocolate donut from the beiler's which is in the apartment. Now, about the negatives - basically, anything related to money is problematic. If you want to save some of your hard-earned money, better stay away. First, no utilities are included. I live in the same general area now and save, on an average, 200-300 bucks in summertime in utilities. Second, as many other reviewers pointed out, your security deposit is basically insecured, you are not gonna get it back, in fact, you will end up paying some more. We payed some ridiculous cleaning charge even though there were some small and regular wear and tear in the apartment. We thought of returning here after couple years, but after the experience with the security deposit and post move out charges, we decided against that. Third, the place has some rodent problem. Although, I would point out that this problem was taken care quite promptly once we brought it in the attention of the maintenance team. Overall, if you have some serious amount of money to spend for nothing, you can definitely live here.

DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! My daughter just moved out and they are withholding our security deposit for "Full Paint Studio". She lived there for 2 years and they said they define marks on the walls as "damage". I asked for a walkthrough and they stated that they did not conduct them with their tenants. This is the FOURTH apartment we have rented in Philadelphia Center City / University City and we've NEVER had a security deposit withheld! And there were multiple rats that live in the building...here's one dying in the hallway...

Nasty.. roaches friendly

I wish I could give zero stars. I've had mice, leaking ceilings, shower tiles falling off the wall, got burnt with the water temperature in the shower and have an over priced electric bill. But the icing on the cake was this week. I'll attach a picture of what happened. My cabinet fell off the wall, while I was walking in the door. I'm still waiting to be reimbursed for the broken stuff but the best part was management tried to blame what I had in the cabinet instead of the screws that held the cabinet in the wall (which a worker told me were the wrong screws). I had spices, tea bags, dry pasta and two jars of diced tomatoes. I don't even feel very safe living here anymore.

Worst place I've ever lived! The one star is for the convenience of the location. This place is after your money, as much of it as possible. Place is raggedy, ceiling's falling apart and the carpet it terrible! I also witnessed staff members touching on each other in our laundry room, very unprofessional. Study room is almost always dirty, one time there was food in the kitchen area just sitting there 3 days in a row. Disgusting! Save your money, do not move here!

just awful -- dont do it. consider this your warning

Worst experience Water heater embedded in the building became extremely noisy in the winter even I did not turn it on. Sometimes there is no hot water during the day. And water pressure of the faucet is extremely noisy. Very depressed living quality.

Current Resident:I am a clean person, and in just a few months I have seen two live mice and 6 live cockroaches, and that is just in my apartment. I have also seen cockroaches in the hallways, elevators, and don't even get me started on how many bugs there are in the trash chute areas.Rent is way overpriced: there are nearby buildings (nearby being within a block or two) that are newer and are lower priced (some are lower priced even including rented furniture).Pros: it is close to Penn, and maintenance is responsive.If ALL you care about is convenience, then I suppose its fine. But if you have standards and don't feel like living with roaches and rodents, then I suggest you look elsewhere. This place is a dump.

In short, the people here are scam artists. The time I spent at Chestnut Hall was fine when I could stomach the absurdly expensive utilities, but they hit me with a $200 repainting charge on the way out. The "damage" that they photographed and sent to me was either not my doing (e.g. mold that grew on a wall due to a pipe leaking behind it) or so minor that it could easily have been present when I moved in and could probably be removed with a wet paper towel. When I pointed this out, corporate told me that the painting had already been paid for and that I was being charged, even though an agent at the leasing office had assured me that I would not be held accountable for damage that was not my fault. Looking at other reviews, I consider myself rather lucky that they didn't try to gouge me for more. Do yourself a favor and ignore the canned responses that management gives to bad reviews. They didn't do anything for me, and I doubt they did anything for anyone else.

Update since moving: Could not be happier to not live here anymore. Move out process was a nightmare (they double booked the same time slot, extending time for two people with movers thus costing us more money AND the freight elevator broke. Thank god nobody got hurt). I received my "move out statement" and big surprise, they've taken the whole deposit and are charging me on top (charges for damages that already exist in these terribly up-kept apartments, shocking...). Again, i could never recommend living in this complex really to anyone until better management and MASSIVE updates occur (which probably never will). Update: to add to the bad, the bike storage downstairs is unreliable. Had my bike stolen so keep your bike in your apartment I guess. Im now extremely concerned for the holiday season as I'm sure multiple packages are going to be left unattended in the lobby. Additionally it feels like the fire alarms go off weekly and evacuation of the building is way too frequent. Probably because the layout of these apartments puts the kitchens in areas with absolutely little to no air flow. The fire alarms are loud enough to probably cause significant damage to both you and your pets ears, I keep ear plugs in multiple places now for when the alarms go off. I honestly no longer recommend to live to here, find somewhere else because there's very little of "good" to make up for the various flaws of this place. Can't really think of any reason I'd look to renew once this lease ends. ------------------------------ Overall this is not a terrible place. I've had a decent experience so far but this is compared to horrible apartments in the past The good: Location is great. Lots of food locally and proximity to grocery stores. Close to MFL subway. Reasonably quiet enough area for the most part, although I've been woken up multiple times at night from drag racers on the street. Maintence team here is very nice and responds promptly. The place is pet friendly and with a fairly low monthly pet fee. The bike storage is in the basement, but typically pretty crowded. Move in/out is through the elevators in the back alley and can be reserved, made move in much simpler as long as you reserve a time/day. They have private parking for I think an additional $250 a month. The bad: laundry is shared and will cost between $5-7 per load and often dryers don't work sufficiently. The mail storage you pay for often won't accommodate all the packages this building receives and results in boxes being left out in the lobby possible for theft. This place advertises cheap rent, but my single unit apartment with a window unit for AC costs $200-300 monthly for power as the entire building is pooled together and divided amongst the tenants. Also, apart from the heating units, window units are all that are available for AC. Most tenants don't appear to bother throwing trash down the actual shoot, instead they'll throw it around and just leave it, often making getting to the shoot itself difficult. My unit has leaked into the unit below multiple times, big hole in the wall now so they could do repairs and was simply covered by a large piece of particle board. Whatever, just covered it with a plant. As well, the quality of the actual units is quite poor but likely varies greatly. Cracks in the walls and ceilings and very poor quality paint jobs probably will be common among units. Management is overall reasonable and I've had good experiences so far. Likely a decent first college apartment that's maybe cheaper than other nearby places. Just make sure you understand that power, laundry, and additional fees will make the "low" rent price much higher than you realize. In addition, if you're paying electronically (not by check) its an additional $40 for payments. Past reviews mention that any deposit fee will likely be taken for repairs so make sure you can be there for move out inspection I guess. I'm sure it'll happen to me as well.

Avoid at all costs.

The horrible apartment trying to take advantage of students

Do NOT MOVE HERE!!! (Read my problem and don't regret if it will come to you)!!!I just moved in a few weeks ago. The leasing office gave me a discount and he asked me to sign the contract at that price for off-market and so on. For first month rent, they asked me for higher price!! I am still solving this problem since 3 weeks ago!!!Fortunately, I have his text which he gave me this offer and asked me to sign with a higher price! Now, I am spending my money to hire a lawyer to solve it.Do not move here, they don't care and respect to you after you sign the contract!!

bye patrick mcgarry

DO NOT RENT HERE! It is a scam! They just want to charge you as much as they can for rent and utilities and the place is TRASH

Didn't show responsibility to customer.

DON'T LIVE HERE. I normally don't write reviews on anything but if I could save someone from the experience I'm having currently- it's worth it. There have been several things wrong with my apartment (leaking ceiling, paint falling off the ceiling(was fixed a 4th time yesterday) clogged bathtub, all of which were fixable and took a couple days to sort out but was eventually fixed. One expects that in an older building, but still not a good sign to need to worry about all these things. What one does not expect is never having a comfortable shower temperature. Either you get burned, my skin literally turned bright red, or there is no hot water at all and you freeze. Not to mention when you don't touch the shower knobs the temperature changes in midshower. It is uncomfortable and a terrible experience to not know what water temperature to expect while showering. Not worth the trouble to live here. And for the price you pay- find someplace else UPDATE: Now here a long time and I've had mice, leaking ceilings, shower tiles falling off the wall, got burnt with the water temperature in the shower and have an over priced electric bill. But the icing on the cake was this week. I'll attach a picture of what happened. My cabinet fell off the wall, while I was walking in the door. I'm still waiting to be reimbursed for the broken stuff but the best part was management tried to blame what I had in the cabinet instead of the screws that held the cabinet in the wall (which a worker told me were the wrong screws). I had spices, tea bags, dry pasta and two jars of diced tomatoes. I don't even feel very safe living here anymore.

Poor Management. Unclear Bills.

This is the worst apartment I have ever lived in. The utility bill charges(~$200/month) is arbitrary by the property management. The gas for heating is charged for every month even in summer so don't be fooled by the relatively lower rent in the university city area. For me, I got a $500 deposit and nevertheless the property will forge thousands of charges until it drains up the full deposit amount. The parking is $260 per month and it's shared with the public outside without a gate. I have come across several people(might be homeless with a car) spending nights in the car the whole night and many poops around. The property is too old and it's sold for many times with changing property management which makes it very hard for communication. I'm so angry when I have already checked out two months ago nobody living but still being charge such utilities and checkout turned out to be robbed so ended up posting here as a honest advise for the new comers. I'll posted my last month's bill for your reference.

If I could give a no-start review to Chestnut Hall Apartments, I would. For absurdly high rental rates, security deposits, AND parking costs you get very little in return.For starters, almost everything advertised on their website as 'amenities' is embellished or flat out false. The 'free-wifi' is only in the lobby and the 'covered parking structure' is actually just an open lot next to the building with no security. They allow random people working in the building to park there all frequently while you are shelling out an additional $200 a month.The '24-hour concierge service' merely organizes your packages for you but will gladly slap on the $75 lock out fee even if for a first time offense. While the maintenance team is amicable, many of their repairs are quick-fixes at best and the problems return quickly. Outside of the lobby, the hallways between apartments and areas around the elevators are cleaned infrequently.Like other reviews mentioned, they are quick to omit important pieces of information so they can charge you later and will charge you for almost anything if you're apartment is not exactly the same (professionally cleaned) when you leave. Moral of the story: don't live here. You'll pay way too much for way too little.

Hell is better than here.

stop racism !

UTILITY BILLING SCAM Current tenants: check your utility bills when you move out of this place! For your final bill, they don't charge you based on the electricity or gas actually used. Instead, they "estimate" it by calculating the daily rate they charged you for the __previous billing cycle__ and applying it to your __final billing cycle__ (by prorating based on the number of days). Both the utility biller (Conservice) and AIR confirmed this on the phone. I moved out in July 2022 --- but got a gas bill for the same daily rate that I paid in April (a much colder month) This meant I paid $80/month for "natural gas" in the months of May and June. This is FRAUDULENT Community manager Daniel Lopez, to his credit, claims to have reached out to his maintenance team to find a solution to calculate a correct final bill for me, but in the end told me that AIR won't budge. I will be following up with PA Attorney General and the PA Office of the Consumer Advocate. Not to mention the other highlights of living here: - chipping paint everywhere - stained carpet in the hallway - elevators periodically out of order - fire alarms constantly going off - no soundproofing at all from outside street noise - swastikas on lobby floor - packages strewn about lobby

Keep away from this apartment if you mind your money! I lived there for almost 2 years and the living experience was very terrible. First, when I moved out I was charged over 1000 dollars for [lock replacement, full studio paint, cleaning fee, late fee(I don't know what's this for)] even there is no big damage on the wall or floor. I also cleaned the whole unit when I left. And for the lock replacement, they gave me a picture of an irrelevant wall as evidence and said the lock need to be replaced? Also, my lease ends at Aug.5 and I wrote an email to them said I will moved out on Aug.3, and they charged me 331 dollars for rent? Come on the total monthly rent for my unit is only 1400 dollars. (BTW, my lease started at Dec. 15 but I was charged for the whole month rent) Ridiculous! I don't think they care about their residences, and you will never get your deposit back.

Two weeks before I moved in, I contacted the management people whether they have all my documents so I can get the keys promptly. They didn't return even the most courteous calls and emails, and for weeks I got no reply. I called Dana Grey and Deborah Jost, and emailed both of them. On the moving day Deborah Jost stopped me and refused me to bring in my furnitures, and said there's something missing. Where was her during the last three weeks? After I submitted the required documents, she said she needs to review it. It's only 1 piece of paper! It took her 2 days to finally reviewed, and I lived in a hotel for 2 days while still paying my rent. I told her I've been contacting her and other people in the management and there were voice messages, so literally they shouldn't charge me for the days that I haven't moved in....and guess what? She avoid my eyes and looked into another direction, and just walked away in front of me. Those people don't even have the basic etiquette to start with. They don't have any respect to their tenant. I am moving out this month.

The place has mice, there is always a bad smell from the trash rooms, consider your deposit gone

The one star is given to the unbeatable location. Otherwise, this place sucks. Our oven was broken right after we moved in, and maintenance guy was so inexperienced that he CAUGHT A FIRE when he came to fix the oven. Thankfully he was fast enough to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, yet our whole room was covered with messy white powder afterwards. It's not surprising that they did not compensate for the damage or help us clean up or even apologize to us. They are just arrogant! You think that's it? No! They have all different ways to keep your deposit! Don't ever expect to get your deposit back once you sign the lease with them! Maybe you would think that our room was not cleaned up well enough before we move out. We had four different families moved out during the same period of time, and none of us got our deposit back. I don't believe it's a coincidence.

I am from another country and I am not familiar with the rental regulations here. You need to provide a written notice 60 days before your departure. I was not aware of this rule and they didn't tell me also when I told them orally that I am leaving. A friend noticed me 30 days before my departure and as a result I provided the written notice 30 days before my departure. They charged me an additional $1600 for that. For this experience the score of this place is 1 star. The first day that I came to visit the apartment I asked the realtor about mice and he said there are no mice in the building. This is not true, there are many mice in the building, they usually emerge during late fall and early winter. The pest control does not do anything effective.There is a disgusting odor always coming from the trash rooms. I do not consider living in this place in the future and I don't recommend it.

DO NOT RENT HERE!!! If you like having warm water, this is not the place for you. If you like having a warm apartment in the winter, this is not the place for you. They will charge ridiculously high amounts for utilities that are not based on how much THE RENTER uses. THEY HAVE NO METERS TO MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF WATER OR GAS YOU USE!!! They only care about ripping you off.

UPDATE: My heater was never fixed. I recently moved out and I was charged a total of $410 for damages. The community asked for my address to return my security deposit but in reality it was to make sure they could charge me an extra amount after my security deposit was consumed by my final utility bill (It was $165 even though I was out of town for most of the month so I don't know how it came out so high) and the $410 move out charge. This is the break down of my move out charge: $250 for painting, $75 for kitchen damages, and $85 for cleaning charges. I spoke to the management of chestnut hall to no avail. Super combative. I told them that I understand the apartment needs to be cleaned but the charges were egregious. The damages they were charging me for were normal wear and tear. I was told when first leasing the apartment that the community understands people live in the units and that they would cover normal lived in conditions/normal wear and tear. The person I spoke to immediately shot back "that's just hearsay, I wasn't working here at the time so I don't know what you were told". Very defensive and never denied that their salesmen tell people that to coax them into leasing. There is so much turnover in the leasing office that management is able to deny with ease that they ever made any guarantees. There is only one way to describe this type of conduct: sleazy and lacking integrity.In addition: During my last 3 months at chestnut hall I had problems receiving mail. I have type 1 diabetes and was receiving care packages from family and the type one community. I wasn't able to reliably receive medication and informative materials about my condition (as I was recently hospitalized and diagnosed with my condition) during this time. I was charged $80 for not picking up my mail even though it was never sent to me. I had to contact the third party (Luxerone) and track each individual package/carrier to find my missing mail. I was refunded the charge since they had opened a new account without my permission using one of my old emails. It was very frustrating that Chestnut Hall decided to start using this third party that was very inefficient and required you to submit your credit card so they could charge you if you did not pick up mail within 3 days (and sometimes charge you for opening an account without your permission). I received mail a month late as a result of this and spent soooo much time on this that I did not have with doctors appointments and studying for a very important exam.

This place is a disaster. I think I am a very clean person and I try to keep my apartment clean. However, I still encountered cockroaches and mouse. It was a terrifying experience which the leasing office didn't show any concern when I told them about the issue. Also they really try everything to rob you off by taking your deposit as much as possible. I highly recommend others to take photos before you move out and be present why they do the inspecting. DON'T LET THEM WIN! AND STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE.

The place has mice, there is always a bad smell from the trash rooms, consider your deposit gone

Do not live here. They charge gas based on square footage instead of actual usage, so I got charged over $100/mo even though I was barely home. They will charge you cleaning fee and damage repair fee after you move out even if you keep the place in good condition, with normal wear and tear. The only good thing about this place is the location and prompt response of the maintenance team. But seriously though, it's very overpriced and you can live somewhere else that is equally close but reasonably priced.

Rent elsewhere if you can. They will abandon you once you signed your lease. Manager never show up in his office during regular hours because he lives in the building. Always in meetings when you eventually finds him. Though the security deposit is "only" $500, don't ever think of getting it back. They will force you to pay for professional cleaning upon checking out or will take out $150 directly. They would be careless not giving you the "move-in condition" form when you moved in and make you pay for whatever "damages you made" to the apartment when checking out. Utilities are shared whether you lived in during the days or not, and can be ridiculously high in certain months. They will shut the electricity once in a while. Residents living on higher floors need to climb the stairs... 4x3=12 washers in floor 7, 8, 9 10 could be all down at one time for 4 days though maintenance request was sent in... Horrible experience living here. Ohh, not to mention, for three weeks during march, 2021, water from shower head could turn from extremely hot to freezing cold. Maintenance knew that the divider was broken but experimented on changing shower head... i only got this problem fixed by showing the intention to file a case in small claims court. Which i will definitely do remotely after they ate my security deposit.

On the surface, Chestnut Hall would probably warrant a 3.5-4 star review if not for the management/$6B market-cap public company that runs the place (AIMCO-Apartment Investment and Management Co Real Estate Trust). The management company turns what could be a 4 star experience into a zero star experience through potentially illegal, rent-seeking activities which, tbh, hurts them much more than helps them in the long-run. With a few key changes, Chestnut Hall could be a great place! But, as it is today, I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for an apartment.

UPDATE TO "RESPONSE FROM OWNER" - Shaunice, I spoke to you and you told me that your policy is to not return security deposits. I then talked to your supervisor who stated that ANY spot on a wall is considered "damage", not "wear and tear" AND if there's a spot on one wall you paint the entire apartment. Please let me know if you now want to return my security deposit. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM! My daughter just moved out and they are withholding our security deposit for "Full Paint Studio". She lived there for 2 years and they said they define marks on the walls as "damage". I asked for a walkthrough and they stated that they did not conduct them with their tenants. These are our pictures of the way we left the apartment, and for that they are withholding $469! This is the FOURTH apartment we have rented in Philadelphia Center City / University City and we've NEVER had a security deposit withheld! After reading more reviews, the "message from owner" comments seem so nice that they'll work with you...but they don't. They just say "no". Oh, and here are some pictures of the rats that live and die in the hallway, and yes, we notified management immediately.

Chestnut Hall is a mediocre place for UPenn students to live. Was nice initially but continuous issues with poor management, old and faulty appliances, and a blatant lack of enforcement of the no smoking policy have been a continuous headache. Many new hidden fees continue to compound over the years. (The donut shop previously mentioned has long been closed and boarded up)

If i could give it 0 stars, i would. Do yourself a favor and find a cheaper and better place literally anywhere else. The utilities are scam. They charged me nearly $100 over two months in the middle of the summer for gas when I did not use gas once. They charged me nearly $100 for one month while my heater was broken in the dead of winter, which is an absolute joke. They will immediately charge you $100 for cleaning upon move out, no matter how well cleaned the apartment is. And they will charge $250 for "wall repainting" even for the most minor of scratches and ordinary wear and tear, which is illegal in PA. The company that runs the complex is garbage.Furthermore, the building is in awful shape, the elevators commonly did not work and they had smoke alarms go off in the middle of the night multiple times throughout the year and could not figure out how to fix it. This forced the tenants to leave their apartments multiple times a night on a number of occasions. No apologies or remuneration given.

Only live here if you must. I wish I could give this place zero stars. Besides from the location (if you go to/work at Penn/Drexel), Chestnut Hall has zero to offer. It is absurdly over priced for all aspects of the property. From the quality of service that the Leasing Team provides, to the out of date appliances, to the third party security staff that seems to never be doing their job (either not on post, on their phones, or sleeping at the concierge desk, etc.) to the lack of amenities (no gym, dishwasher, laundry that's in unit, etc.), this place really sucks. They pride themselves on the donut shop that's downstairs.

The outside looks beautiful and the agents do look genuinely helpful, but that is only to get you to sign the lease. The apartment itself are mediocre at best. They WILL charge you an absurd amount for heat whether or not you use it or not (something they will not disclose). They reassured me that utility will be averaged 50 in the summer and at most 100 in the winter. However, this is not how their utility works. They charge gas based on the size of your apartment and you can be paying for someone else's use. They have been charging me avg 110 for gas in the winter months even though it was kept off. They are known to keep your deposit money plus charge you for damages even if you leave your place in pristine condition. They will ARGUE that the small marks/scratches you leave on the wall are NOT normal wear and tear. Do yourself a favor and look around. There are many good places on craigslist and trulia that are much cheaper and cost much less. PROS: location, maintenance team (response very quickly)

One star is one star too many! New tenants BEWARE you can kiss your security deposit goodbye as they will keep your money in order to maintain the building for their next tenants. Yes, after living there for 10 months, you will pay $350 to clean and paint the entire apartment for the next tenant--no matter how clean you left the place. Such a bummer that Chestnut Hall treats good and honest tenants this way. And, the money they keep is small enough that it's not worth hiring a lawyer--and they know that, too. So they continue to get away with this petty racket they are running. We had a fine experience while living in the building and with the leasing folks (who do turnover every few weeks?!), the nice people at the front desk and the responsive maintenance crew---but upon moving out, BEWARE (!) there is another stealth "team" that trumps up reasons to keep your security deposit in order to cover their own costs of painting the place for the next tenant. The photos they eventually sent us as "evidence" of so much damage to the walls that the ENTIRE place needed a full paint job, 1) do not show enough of the apartment to even clearly see that they are photos of our apartment 2)show basic wear and tear scuff marks along the base boards that their own (expensive) cleaning service that we were charged for could have easily wiped it up with a mr. clean sponge. But I am sure no matter how much cleaning was done, that this company would have kept our money. So many reviews on this site and elsewhere tell of the same story--so clearly it's a thing they do here. We also signed an agreement for cleaning for the fee of $85 and they charged us $100---and then they acted as if we did not have a prior agreement with them for cleaning at the price of $85. And to add insult to injury: When we politely reached out to our contact at Chestnut Hall to complain and question these charges, he said, "we can no longer help you as you are not a tenant anymore." We were instructed to call another company in an effort to get resolution--this is a company that is clearly committed to keeping your deposit at all costs. Again, these are not the pleasant folks we spoke with at the time when we arranged our move-out, cleaning plans, and also reviewed and confirmed that we left the place in a good state ( only a few holes in the wall from picture frames he said--which he would charge us $35 to fix) and that the cleaning fee would be $85 (not $100). It is so disappointing to read review after review online about this silly scam--clearly we weren't the first or the last to be ripped off by Chestnut Hall. While attending UPenn, my daughter lived in four different places. She is a terrific and responsible tenant and NOT A SINGLE ONE of the other buildings kept any money from her deposit, nor did they charge for basic "wear and tear" of the apartment. Take our advice if you don't want to lose $500: Hamilton Court across the street is terrific and they behave with integrity, treat people with decency, and don't scam good and responsible tenants out of their deposits. Sad that Chestnut Hall sullies their reputation with such a petty and deceitful business practice.

Before I moved in, I read many reviews about the apt charging too many fees and keeping deposits. I assumed that these people had done damage that made management keeping the deposit justified - this was a mistake. They kept our whole deposit and charged us an additional $200 for repainting. We had only lived there for 9 months and had done no damage to the walls or to the apartment. Repainting should be done at the cost of management. I asked for pictures of the "damage" and was sent pictures of flaws that were preexisting when we moved in AND of an apartment that was clearly NOT our own. The room in the picture was carpeted.. and our apartment had wood floors. Pros: the building manager was actually very nice and maintenance was speedy, the donut shop is great. CONS: 1. don't expect to see any of your deposit back. 2. overpriced rent considering a persistent roach problem 3. package system is disorganized and they are sometimes unable to locate packages that are confirmed as delivered 4. security sleeps on the job sometimes 5. if you get locked out late at night you have to pay something like $75 just to borrow a lockout key which is absurd 6. our heating broke multiple times 7. no dishwashers 8. mouse problem (it happens in the city but no attempt was made to resolve the problem) 9. They consistently overcharge for utilities, the charges aren't transparent 10. you will pay the cleaning fee at move out, no matter how clean you leave the apartment, so don't even waste your time 11. despite the fact that the lobby looks great, no one hangs out or does work there because there is horrible music blasting 24/7. Obviously, I would not recommend living here when you could pay similar rent at (nicer, newly renovated) Hamilton Court directly across the street.

You might lose your deposit after moving! I moved out two months ago, but I still cannot get my deposit until now. And the person who deal with this shows very bad service, run away, now.

The leasing agents are dishonest and I would strongly advise against living in this building. Per reviewers below, I was aware they would try to nickel and dime me at move out, so I had the leasing agent come to my apartment to take a look and let me know what I could do to not get charged an absurd fee. He told me "it's a hundred year old building, we're not going to be nit-picky." Two weeks later I get charged $300 dollars for paint/wall damage and cleaning fee. This is not my first experience dealing with lies told by the leasing agents. They had told me that if I referred my friend to the building I would get a $500 referral bonus however, when I went back to ask about it they came up with excuses that I referred someone for a month where they discontinued the deal (which of course they initially told me the referral deal was always valid). Also, any 5 star review you see is probably because they claim they will enter you into a $500 raffle if you post something positive.

They charged me $4800 at move-out because I had to break my lease due to a last minute move to California. They have absolutely absurd and out of the norm lease terms which they don't make completely clear when signing. They need a 2 month move-out notice and charge another 2 month's worth of rent as penalty (sublet charge) on early termination of the lease. With all the hidden charges and fees, it seems as if this community is taking unfair advantage of students at University City.On top of the exploitative lease terms and fines they are also pretty low on ethics. Before my move-out I connected them to a tenant who would take over my apartment on a sublease. She ended up not taking my sublease as she wanted to start her lease a month later. So she signed a new lease with them for a similar apartment. But they explicitly made sure she got a different apartment from mine so that they could charge me with 2 month's of rent as penalty (sublet charge). They did that despite the fact that I found them a new tenant.They have warned me that they will report me to a collection agency if I don't pay the balance which is more than $3000 on top of my security deposit. Chestnut hall/Aimco will do anything to extract money from your pockets. I wonder how far they can go with all this bad word they are earning. No wonder they have to hire jugglers on all street corners of Chestnut hall to spin "Now Leasing" boards around their bodies.

Chestnut Hall management agency tries to grab all of your deposit! They have the contact says: you have to sent a "written a leaving notification" before ***days.1. They will not inform this to you when you sign the contact!2. They will not notice you that you should write a notification when they confirm your leaving day with you orally.3. The leasing agency knows that you will leave, they will not ask you to write a notification.Why??? Because they are laugh that you will pay the punishment fee for you do not write a notification!!!How much will you pay?$450-$500They are waiting for reburying for deposit!