University Court — Local services in Davis

My daughter was the actual tenant, but I dealt first hand with issues outlined in this review.

University Court Apartments has been informed of the Code and Lease violations being claimed in this review, but have issued no denials or response of any kind. Both the Code and Lease have been carefully read, which led to the conclusions stated in this review. The exact code is given for you to read on your own.

The management company for this complex is a very questionable company. They violate California Civil Code §1950.5(d) by not notifying their tenants of a right to an initial move out inspection to give an opportunity to avoid security deposit deductions. They conduct an inspection anyway, but violate the code that states "based on the inspection, the landlord shall give the tenant an itemized statement specifying repairs or cleanings that are proposed to be the basis of any deductions from the security the landlord intends to make." Also, " The tenant shall have the opportunity during the period following the initial inspection until termination of the tenancy to remedy identified deficiencies, in a manner consistent with the rights and obligations of the parties under the rental agreement, in order to avoid deductions from the security." Management also claims that a final move out inspection is not necessary, even though the lease states "6. INSPECTIONS: Move-In/Move-out Inspection checklists must be completed with each Resident at time of move-in and move-out." We were not comfortable when told we did not need an inspection and insisted that they do one after we moved everything out of the apartment and cleaned it. Arlene conducted the inspection and stated it was clean and looked good. At that time, we still had 7 hours to correct any deficiencies, but again we were given no itemized list, and were led to believe that our security deposit would be returned. Later, they claimed deductions for keys, carpet cleaning and painting. When we complained, they remembered that the keys were turned in. But, when we pointed out the code violations and contradiction to the lease, they changed the deductions to carpet cleaning, painting and cleaning. The apartment was completely cleaned, and this was verified during the last inspection. The refrigerator, cupboards, oven, bathroom, window ledges and closets were all checked. So, at the final inspection it was clean and when they checked it again and found supposed deficiencies to withhold for, cleanliness was not one of them. Suddenly, after they have to remove charges for keys and it is pointed out that they violated the California Civil Codes and made statements contrary to their own lease, the apartment is no longer clean. Their only goal is to claim as much of the security deposit as possible. When they had to remove one deduction, they came up with another one. The amounts for their deductions do not even match the deductions outlined in the lease.

They are very dishonest and the girls in the office (we dealt with Lisa, who claims to be a manager, and Arlene) are extremely unprofessional and unhelpful. If you decide to rent here, take pictures of everything when you move in and move out. They will try to claim any deductions they think they can get away with and you would have a hard time disproving. They know that they can cheat tenants and they will still get new ones because they are dealing with college students renting their first apartment and the location is close to the university. They have no regard for their tenants, the law, or their own lease. It is terrible that they take advantage of inexperienced tenants. Rent at...

Parents and students… BE WARNED! Stay away from UNIVERSITY COURT; 515 Sycamore LN in Davis CA. The entire complex is infested with rats and unethical management practices. The only good thing about University Court is the location (located next to Trader Joes and across the street from UC Davis). We moved my son into his apartment at University Court (UC) in SEP 2021 and were provided a lease agreement that guarantees liability/responsibility for the unpaid debts of the other lease holder/roommate who fails to pay their half of the rent on time. It’s my fault for not reading the fine print… so please don’t make the same mistake I did. During the period of 09/15/2021 through 08/30/2024, my son had three different roommates, who either left after transferring into another school, or dropped out due to poor grades. Each time we received aggressive and intimidating letters, emails and phone calls from University Court management telling us that we were responsible for the other roommate’s rent/liabilities regardless of our good standing for paying our half of the rent on time. When we tried to discuss or dispute the situation with UC management… the only thing they would say is, “it’s in the lease and if you don’t pay the total amount we will simply send your account to a collection agency, ruin your credit and evict your student from the apartment”. To add insult to injury… the entire apartment/complex is infested with HUGE RATS (we have the photos and the videos to prove it!). After repeated complaints to UC management… their response was to send a maintenance person to the apartment and set two rat traps (which did absolutely nothing at all). The rat infestation got so bad that my son had to move out two months early and find another room to rent so he could graduate on time. When his lease was finally up we returned to the vacant apartment… and were horrified to see how the rats had eaten the furniture, carpet, baseboards, and parts of the doors and walls. The apartment was filled with rat droppings and the smell of rodent urine. Instead of moving my son’s furniture and belongings out of the apartment, we were forced to throw everything away due to the damage and infestation issues. We were afraid of disease and the possibility of spreading the rat infestation into his new apartment. The situation even gets worse! After thoroughly cleaning the apartment and turning in the keys… UC management refused to inspect the apartment with us in order to view the damage and rat infestation. They told us they were sorry for the rat issues and they would refund our $700 security deposit once they did their own inspection 3 days later. Not only did this corrupt UC management staff keep our $700 security deposit… but they charged us an additional $149.19 for painting, cleaning and damage caused by the hungry rats. And yes… it was followed up with an additional threatening letter telling us to pay the bill or face the consequences of a collection agency that would ruin our credit score. We are reporting University Court to the authorities and to the UC David Health commission in order to protect other UC Davis students from University Court’s unscrupulous management practices. Please stay away from University Court… there are other apartments available in the immediate area without rats (this includes the rodents and the employees who work for...

UPDATE: Post-COVID, they have implemented more events and perks for being a resident such as snacks in the office and monthly events. However, once you are moving out, the office staff turn and become rude. They will charge you for cleaning, repainting, and carpet cleaning even though they normally do this as routine maintenance of the property. Nothing in my apartment was beyond wear and tear, and I spent months with my family cleaning and preparing for my move out. And when my roommate tried to dispute some of the charges the Business Manager asked if she was even on the lease. BEWARE YOU WILL NOT GET MOST OF YOUR DEPOSIT BACK!

COVID REVIEW: University Court has a good location because it is close to campus, across the street from Trader Joe's, and has a bus stop in front of he property. They have a nice pool (which nobody uses), a spacious gym (weights, treadmill, various machines), and a large study lounge.

The apartment has all wooden floors and a carpeted bedroom. The are no lighting fixtures in the living room and bedroom, so you have plug in your own lighting. The tile in the bathroom, is a cheap plastic that has been caulked into place. There are a lot of hidden fees when living at this apartment. There is a $30/month parking fee, $7 fee for the laundry card, $70 for sewage, water, and trash which is added on top of the high rent.

The office staff are really unfriendly. When I first moved into last year, I was having problems with the resident portal and the office staff recommended some vague instructions, which I would try and would still not help solve my problem. I went to the office about 4 times before the manager finally stepped in and helped me out. The manager of the property is also called the "Business Team Leader," which says a lot about how they value their tenants.

Since the beginning of quarantine, there has been a closure of all amenities, limited office hours, and long wait times for maintenance requests. Even though they have closed their amenities because they fear the spread of COVID-19, I have not seen additional sanitary measures and the female office assistant talked to me without a mask. In addition, the current residents have not been compensated in any way for the for the reduction of services. The office continues remind their tenants that they cannot break their lease for the next year, even though many students are returning home since...