The Academy on Charles — Local services in Baltimore

It was very clear living here that The Academy mostly cared about money. There was bad communication, hidden fees, random charges, etc.

There was a point where people I knew who lived at the academy did not know that we were getting double charged on insurance. This information was so poorly communicated and wasted about ~$50 from each of us.

I know a lot of people who got charged insane and unreasonable move out fees. (Reminder you can legally request to be present at the move out inspection 2 weeks prior to move out. Send a letter by mail.)

There was a summer where there was a cockroach in my room and it took 4 requests before they removed the cockroach (i literally caught it and they just needed to dispose of it ), and they also lied about spraying my room.

Also maintenance was just generally very loud, came in unprompted some times, and walked in my room with their shoes on. Lots of room inspections too.

And if you want to stay here multiple years, and sublet over the summer, the reletting process is insane and unreasonable, and they have no subletting option.

Edit: to respond to the Academy’s response… first the issue with the move out fees was how unreasonable they were, not the communication about them. A friend of mine got charged $200+ for a carpet replacement when the carpet looked the exact same as when she moved in. $200+ for a carpet replacement sounds unreasonable. many people have other stories of being unfairly charged for normal wear and tear.

The communication from the academy has not been clear. For the insurance issue, they did send an email talking about insurance being offered through GMH communities, but no where in the email did they state that this insurance was different than the insurance they asked us to sign up for the previous year. Hence why people got double charged.

When I first signed my original lease, I asked about subletting, and was told over the phone the academy does that. The lease does say reletting, but since the person over the phone said subletting was an option, I thought it was the same thing. I only found out reletting was different when it came time to look for someone to sublet over the summer. They advertise themselves as being for college students, yet subletting over the summer seems like the bare minimum for student housing?

And for moving out I was told we could be present during the official move out inspections by a front office worker, and it states in the lease we can be present for the move out inspection, but in actuality they were talking about a pre-move out inspection. Which is not the official inspection. When I brought this up they stated that an email they sent covered this, and the lease does as well, but the lease never stated pre-move out inspections, and the email talked about pre-move out and move out inspections. No where did either state a move out inspection was a pre move out inspection, so truly unsure of how the academy expected people to know that was what they meant. I still worked something out to be present but it was a process.

The pest control situation was resolved in 48 hours, but that was because I was very quick with submitting the requests when I saw they were improperly closed. If I hadn’t resubmitted requests the cockroach would’ve never...

Hard to believe I’m the only one pointing this out... Sadly, two of The Academy on Charles leasing office staff members feel the need to write a review of their own workplace. Referring to Enoch K’s review of her daughter’s experience, she recalls the building administration as being “mean, callous and insensitive,” specifically mentioning Tiffany. While I can speak to her testimony, I must first bring up that the Tiffany she speaks of is the same Tiffany Anne Quezon who wrote a gleaming review of her experience with the Academy... Ironically, Ms. Quezon actually works in the leasing office here (I picked up packages from her once a week), and I recognize her from her profile photo. I also recognize Chelsea E (a recent reviewer here) as a staff member (although she was at least kind to me). Who can believe all of these five star reviews knowing that at least two of them were written by their own staff members? (Maybe their reviews will be deleted upon reading this but if not, just scroll down).

Dishonesty aside, I did not have a positive experience during my time here as much as I wanted to. As a relet over the summer for the purpose of a 5-days-a-week organic chemistry course, I needed a three day lease extension since my lease ended on the 31st but my course ended on the 3rd. I requested it ahead of time, but the administration stated that these requests needed to be submitted months ahead of time, before I even knew I would be living here. However, I heard nothing about this at the time of signing my lease or moving in. My extension request was denied, and Tiffany and other staff (Desiree) showed little to no sympathy, pushing me to move all of my belongings to a hotel room three days before my final exam, and I even received an email threatening to charge me thousands of dollars. I understand that a lease extension for my specific unit may not be possible, but there was zero effort made in finding me a place to stay in the entire building. Two weeks later, I discovered that there were indeed empty units I could move into; however, Tiffany and Desiree directly denied me of my request to do so over and over. The intentions of those staff members were clear; they were cruel, harsh and unforgiving, giving no consideration to my situation or to possible solutions which could be arranged. Later, Chelsea and her male coworker (not sure of his name) offered to try to find me another place in the building to stay. I am very grateful for their efforts, but am shocked that Tiffany and Desiree would not budge in the slightest to try to help.

For a while, I thought that my situation was “the odd one out,” that perhaps I did something wrong or that I could’ve done more. After reading about others’ experiences with some of the intolerant and harrowing staff members here, I’ve realized that I’m not the only one. I realize that this is a modern building with private bathrooms, ideal for many. If nothing goes wrong and you never have any issues which the staff would need to accommodate for, I’m sure you would have a fantastic time living here. Whether you want to take that risk? It’s up to you.

Just my advice. Life at Hopkins can be plenty challenging as is, and the staff here certainly did not make my...

Over the past year, my experience with this property’s management has deteriorated significantly, largely due to persistent communication issues and questionable billing practices.

During my initial lease term, I had no major concerns. However, upon renewal, I encountered numerous unexpected and poorly explained charges, including duplicate and even triple billing. These fees were frequently applied without any prior notice or sufficient justification. As a tenant, I expect, at minimum, written communication before additional charges are debited from my account, but that standard was repeatedly not upheld.

When I renewed my lease, all three of my previous roommates moved out. Despite remaining in the unit, I was treated as though I were vacating as well, and was subsequently charged several move-out-related fees. I received no prior notice of these charges, which I find both improper and unfair. The only communication I received relevant to my renewal status was an email about unit and common area inspections scheduled well after my roommates had vacated. In response, I returned to Baltimore specifically to clean the apartment and prepare it for incoming tenants, taking on that responsibility without using any of the building's services. Despite this effort, I was still charged a cleaning fee — a charge I believe was undeserved, considering the circumstances and my proactive approach.

Throughout the year, I also dealt with persistent issues related to the cleanliness of two of my assigned roommates. Despite raising concerns with management months in advance, I was told that no action could be taken unless the roommates agreed to mediation. which they did not. As a result, I was left to endure uncomfortable and unsanitary living conditions for an extended period. Again, I was not responsible for selecting these roommates; they were assigned to me by management. I requested assistance, received none, and eventually took on cleaning duties myself, only to later be charged for services I did not receive. Charging tenants for work that was not performed is, quite frankly, dishonest. I have read through the full resident handbook and there is no mention of any fees that may be applied to tenants renewing (only mention of tenants moving out). If those renewing are considered in a similar manner to those who are moving out, this should have been disclosed.

Additionally, I was charged a significant fee for repainting services in the common area, yet I was never informed that this work would be done. Tenants deserve to be notified when maintenance personnel will be entering their living space — both out of respect and for safety reasons. The lack of transparency in this case was unacceptable.

My attempts to dispute these charges were ultimately dismissed without meaningful consideration. The entire experience has felt unfair and exploitative. Many tenants in this complex are students, and the lack of accountability demonstrated by management appears to take advantage of that fact that many students lack leasing experience. These practices reflect a concerning misuse of authority and disregard for tenant rights. I do not recommend...