88 Hillside Apartments — Attraction in Daly City

After enduring a series of incredibly frustrating emails with management, I feel compelled to share my experience to warn future tenants.
(Shoutout to the maintenance team—my only positive interaction here.) I lived at 88 Hillside for over two years, and my move-out experience has been nothing short of deeply disappointing and unprofessional. During the pre-move-out inspection, I was assured multiple times that no deep cleaning or repainting was necessary. Yet, I was blindsided when I later received a bill for cleaning and painting, completely contradicting what was communicated during the inspection. Under California Civil Code § 1950.5, landlords are restricted in their use of security deposits to specific expenses, such as past-due rent, repairs for damages caused by tenants (excluding ordinary wear and tear), cleaning to restore the property to its original condition, or replacing/restoring the landlord's property as outlined in the rental agreement. Security deposits cannot be used for damages that existed before the tenant moved in, unreasonable or unnecessary expenses, or ordinary wear and tear. Additionally, tenants have the legal right to an initial inspection before moving out, which allows them to address any potential deductions. Landlords are obligated to notify tenants of this right and provide an itemized statement of deductions, giving tenants the opportunity to rectify issues and avoid charges. Furthermore, within 21 days of move-out, landlords must provide an itemized statement detailing any deductions (if they exceed $125) along with the remaining deposit. If repairs are conducted by the landlord, the statement must specify the work performed, the time spent, and the hourly rate. When I reached out to General Manager Damion Darling to dispute these unjust charges, his responses were dismissive and passive-aggressive. Despite my multiple requests for clarification, they only provided a detailed invoice after I pressed them, and it was well past the legally required 21-day period. Even with this significant delay, Damion refused to adjust any of the charges, insisting they were entitled to these costs according to California law. I want to emphasize that I don’t mind paying for legitimate cleaning or painting expenses, but what I truly expected was transparency and honest communication. Unfortunately, that has been sorely lacking from this management team. If the charges had been communicated clearly and in good faith, I would have accepted them without hesitation. Instead, the complete absence of transparency and consistent communication left me feeling misled and questioning the validity of the fees. Even more concerning, another former tenant recently shared with me that they experienced an almost identical situation. They were also assured during their pre-move-out inspection that no major cleaning was necessary, only to be hit with similar unexpected charges. This pattern raises serious concerns about how move-outs are managed at this property, leading me to believe this may be a tactic to exploit tenants financially. Additionally, I feel I have been unfairly targeted due to a previous disagreement with management. I raised concerns about potential bias, but Damion’s response was dismissive and unprofessional. Rather than addressing my concerns, he suggested I take the matter to small claims court, which felt more like an intimidation tactic than a genuine attempt to resolve the situation. Reaching out to corporate has proven to be an uphill battle, as they have been difficult to contact. I have requested that another manager review my case due to the glaring lack of professionalism and transparency I have encountered throughout this process.

I hope my experience serves as a cautionary tale for...

First, one of the 5 star reviews is from the leasing agent, Camyll. Call in, you'll see. Oh, and another was Salam, our maintenance guy!!! I have lived here for almost two years. The first year was fine. The apartments are updated for apartment living. Great views of the sunset. The service, Salam (5-star reviewer) and Jose, we're solid. After signing the second lease, everything went downhill. No one cleans up after their pet. Check out the "gardens" throughout the property. Full of feces. And, be careful where you step when touring. Now, our neighbors are mostly college kids crammed 8-14 per unit. These are 2 bedroom apartments. My husband and I spend almost $4k a month to live here. Our water bills have skyrocketed. Oh, and we haven't had hot water for over a week. Camyll, the leasing agent and 5 star reviewer, said a fix still has not been approved. The waste/ recycling costs have increased, as well. People throw large items out upon leaving, and those costs are passed along to the current residents. The management, who is rarely here, will send out emails, but no enforcement taken. We also liked the non-smoking clause we signed when moving in. Unfortunately, there are few that adhere to it. There are cigarette butts throughout the property and ashtrays outside front doors. I have asked many residents not to smoke outside my bedroom window. All reported to management. Oh, and the constant fire alarms requiring evacuation, elevators routinely out of operation, entryway locks non-working, multiple car break-ins, and lots and lots of parties.

Update! 2/23/17 - no hot water again! Camyll, the leasing agent who reviewed with 5 stars is now gone. Salam, another 5 star reviewer, is now gone, as well. The cigarette butts are still littering the property. The elevator is out. There is dog feces throughout the gardens and on the walkways. Oh, and it looks like someone has been trying to burn the stairwell between buildings A and B. The stairwell in the center of building A smells like a blunt and I have encountered gangs of teens there smoking. Still waiting the fire extinguisher to be fixed/ replaced...

Hi future residents, when you feel excited about moving into this apartment, please be prepared that you will be CHARGED a LARGE amount of painting fee+cleaning fee when you MOVE OUT!

I moved out of 88 hillside recently and was charged for $160 cleaning fee, $492 for painting of the full unit and $106.45 unclear “accelerated rent” fee, more than $700 in total! We spent a lot of time to clean our 2b2b apartment before we move out, we cleaned the entire kitchen, all the bathrooms, all the hardwood floor and all the carpet thoroughly. We didn’t do any damage to our rooms, actually we protected them very well, but the apartment charged us a HUGE amount of money WITHOUT regard to the actual condition of the unit!

Besides, they will charge more “by mistake” when you pay the last month of rent. If you move out in the middle of a month, your last bill before you move out will charge you the rent of the entire month. If you don’t notice that the bill is wrong and pay that extra amount of money, you will NEVER get your money back, because they will use that money as “full unit painting”, “cleaning” and “ carpet changing”. The more remaining money you have in your user account, the more move out fee they...