Santa Clara Square — Attraction in Santa Clara

Beware of Unfair Fees and Lack of Accountability at Santa Clara Square!

I want to warn anyone considering living at Santa Clara Square Apartments, managed by Irvine Company, to think twice before signing a lease here. As a tenant, I was recently slapped with an outrageous and hidden “convenience fee” when paying my rent online. Without any clear notice or warning, I was charged nearly $130 just because I used a credit card (or debit card).

What’s worse? This fee was labeled a “convenience fee” — nothing more than a deceptive way to disguise the fact that they are charging an extra 3.5% of your rent if you use a card instead of banking info. No clear guidance was given to tenants to avoid this fee. It’s a classic case of trying to take advantage of tenants who are already paying premium prices to live here.

When I contacted the leasing office to protest, they conveniently shifted the blame to their payment processor, RealPage, and refused to refund me. RealPage did the same, saying it’s not their responsibility either. So now, both parties refuse to take ownership, and tenants are left footing the bill.

This is an absolute scam and feels like fraud. Santa Clara Square clearly doesn’t care about their tenants or fair business practices — they just want to make a quick buck off of hidden fees. And it’s not just me; there are thousands of tenants here, many of whom may have unknowingly paid these unnecessary fees every month.

If you’re thinking about moving in here, beware of the hidden costs that no one tells you about. It’s not just the rent; it’s the lack of transparency, the shady fees, and the complete lack of accountability from the leasing office. They have no interest in resolving issues that affect their tenants, only in passing the blame.

Save yourself the headache and your hard-earned money — look elsewhere for an apartment complex that respects its tenants and doesn’t engage in these kinds of unethical practices. Santa Clara Square is not worth it.

#TenantBeware #HiddenFees #SantaClaraSquare #IrvineCompany #BadService...

This is from building 3. Recently my belongings were stolen from my car. There is no good safety measurements and no cameras to track except at the door in the parking lot. The rents are exorbitant with minimal or no proper precautions taken. The resident office is not concerned and will only ask you to file a non emergency complaint. The inconvenience cause cannot be compensated with further inconvenience. Even if they have access to the footage it is covered up and there is no follow up on the issue. The resident office is simply trained to only deny requests professionally and politely. There is lack of empathy and a drive to resolve the issue.

God forbid, if we run into a crisis and want to replace ourselves with another person with no interruption to the rent, we are asked to pay for 1 or 2 months rent. This is a scam and are simply finding ways to extract money.

The park is filled with dog poo. We cannot enjoy sitting on the grass just to enjoy a good evening. There are no rules set. The grass is only a watch item untouchable. We cannot enjoy a good picnic evening and we are paying a lot.

The garage is most of the time under repair and maintenance.

They start giving you intimation 3 months before the lease ends so you are forced to continue. You have no option because other apartments obviously don’t block a unit 3 months in advance.

False fire alarms are called out frequently disturbing the work with no real cause or effect. One day when there is a real catastrophe, no one will be out because they have been lied...

I lived here from April 2023 to July 2025. The location and amenities are solid, but beware of how they handle move-out charges.

Despite thoroughly cleaning the unit and leaving only two minor carpet stains after over two years of tenancy, I was charged nearly $600 in fees — including a $292.99 carpet replacement charge and a $285.95 cleaning fee. When I disputed these charges, management refused to reconsider and told me they would not respond further unless I involved legal counsel.

Their explanation contradicted California Civil Code §1950.5, which protects tenants from charges for normal wear and tear. If you move in, just know: you’ll likely be charged for carpet and cleaning regardless of how well you maintain the apartment.

Very disappointing end to an otherwise decent...