Rice Village Apartments — Local services in Houston

I stayed here for two years (or 22 months, precisely). The 2-star grade is an average of the effort of our university (5-star) and the conscience of the management (-1 star).

I sincerely thank my university for their arrangement which ensures newly coming students to have somewhere to live. It is especially helpful for international students because of the difficulty of finding an apartment in the market remotely. The rent is not bad. The room size and amenities are below the average but with free Wi-Fi and water, and if you only want to get a 2B1B apartment, it's still a fair price.

However, the management will do whatever they can to complicate your life, and also make every effort to keep your security deposit. Let me tell you a few stories.

1. After my first roommate's moving out, they claimed that the bathtub is unclean, and charged us $75 for a 1-hour clean in total. The bathtub was only under normal wear and tear. I witnessed their cleaning before my new roommate's moving in, and they did not clean the bathtub at all. It was performed after I inquired, and they only cleaned it for 10 minutes. That's just scam. They also claimed that my roommate's key fobs are broken. I have no idea how those things are possibly broken, unless they malfunctions theirselves. They take something like $100 from my roommate liable. What a con artist.

2. They have a walk-through before your moving out. The walk-through should be for both parties' interests, but here it's only for theirs. They will charge everything they see unclean at that time. If you want to clean it because it only takes you 30 seconds to do so, they will refuse and say that they don't have that time waiting. Ironically, they do have the time to go over your place after you leave and add whatever fees they'd like to add on, for example, an unclean sink, which I've never touched after their walk-through. What's the purpose of the walk-through, then? They are also very happy taking their time to process your refund and return it over the 30-day limit set by state law.

3. They added the charges of the first year, which I've already paid, toward the second year, and deducted from my deposit. They did return it after my inquiry. It may be a sincere mistake, but who knows. I just don't believe them any more after all these. They will not provide you with an itemized charge list until you ask, maybe hoping that you ignore their "sincere mistakes".

4. They have a very stringent overnight visitor rule, 14 days per year. If you are not familiar with the market, 14 days per month is the norm. They will also not allow mattress in the public space. I managed to put an additional mattress in my bedroom when I did have a visitor, but it did not prevent them from sending me a "lease violation" email for an additional mattress in the "public space". I have no idea why my bedroom is considered "public space", though. Maybe they think so because they may enter it whenever they want according to the lease.

5. It's hard to live in Houston without a car. But when you get one, they will not let you park inside the parking lot if you only have a permit rather than a full license. It's a PITA for those who want to buy a car to practice for and take their road test.

6. They also won't let you park if you have a rental car. They won't let you park in a regular spot because it's not your car, and they also won't let you park in a visitor's spot because you are not a visitor. Another PITA for those who don't regularly need a car, but have a visitor for some time. Just good luck street park in the busy Rice Village area.

I do wish the best with their conscience.

I don't blame (most of) the RAs. They are just doing their job. They are nice people. I even heard some of them being unfairly treated by...

Resident Aug 2021 - June 2022 Overall, a moderately safe and accessible apartment with free bus service to campus, but at way too high a price for quality. Good place for internationals that need lots of support arriving in the U.S. The apartments are at the same price as nearby complexes that have many more ammenities than RVA.

Repairs: HVAC stopped working Thermostat quick working Replaced 3 main lights 2202A door unable to lock Hot water mixture to shower not working Shower faucet spout not switching to shower head Bathroom sink drain broke Dishwasher replaced. Can no longer open a drawer cause dishwasher wasn’t installed deep enough. Window screens replaced Living room left side pane won’t stay up. Refrigerator does not regulate temperature well. Items regularly froze in the refrigerator even at warmest setting. Issues: 2 entrances didn’t work for over 2 months 4 loud fire alarms in each apartment (caused physical hearing damage). Fire alarm went off at least once every other month 2 days’ notice of intrusive fire alarm testing Management treats residents like irresponsible teenagers Management deals with individual issues by threatening the entire complex with lease violations through email on a weekly basis Management attempted to force residents to leave of 15th of month outside of contract. Negotiated after in-person meeting Appliances and HVAC failed multiple times Extremely poor window sound isolation (can hear whispers across parking lot through window and impossible to sleep through 2 trash trucks per night twice a week) “Preventative maintenance” on closet rack when in use. Had to store clothes in living room! Only one maintenance worker for 300 apartments! Maintenance doesn’t work on weekends! Only 2 days’ notice for 1-hour long fire alarm test. A second 30-minute fire alarm test 2 weeks later with 3 days’ notice. Construction on building caused week-long mail disruptions without any advanced notice! Day-of notice for moving vehicle from paid parking spot multiple times! Construction left nails scattered throughout the parking lot in the vehicle right-of-way. Had a nail go through my shoe and up between my toes while walking out of bike room. Construction was reckless, damaging windows, and disrupting sleep. Charged us $25 to clean the oven after I spent 2 hours scrubbing it (it is 10 years old and had a chemical reaction over time, but they didn’t care). Charged $70 total to us in charges for the “cleanest room they’ve ever seen. We spent multiple days with a professional cleaner prior to leaving. Extra construction blocked all hallways to the elevator during moveout. To get $400 deposit back ($367 after all said and done), had to file as a contractor to Rice University through Rice IO just to get money back…will have to deal with illegal taxes on the deposit (can’t charge tax on a deposit by state law!) Positives: Free shuttle (doesn’t run on weekends except to grocery store) Decent apartment (much smaller than others at same price) Walk-in closets Dual-vanity bathroom Open-concept, just small Utilities except electricity included Deathly quiet neighborhood baring the trash trucks Package acceptance and holding at front desk Secure mailboxes inside lobby RA’s really do care and want to help, the manager forces unethical polices for...

I'd do anything to live here another year.

In the market for Rice student apartments, it feels like the only options are chains that jack up their prices by calling themselves "luxury" or dingbats from the 70s, and none of them are close enough to campus to commute without a car. RVA offers very affordable rent, free and reliable shuttle transportation to RMC, and proximity to the many coffee shops and restaurants of Rice Village. The building's pretty old, but it's constantly being renovated; the vacant apartments are getting their kitchens completely redone right now. My roommate and I only had one roach and a few silverfish the whole year. The appliances are reliable and I never had to request maintenance on anything. The washer/dryers are communal and cost money per operation, which kinda sucked. There's no gym or grocery store nearby, but the weekday shuttles stop at the rec center and there's a shopping shuttle to H-mart on Saturdays (I just ordered HEB delivery). The bedrooms are a bit small, my bed blocked my closet door, but the living rooms and kitchens are very spacious, and the showers have good water pressure and heat.

If you're looking for well-maintained budget housing within walking distance of Rice, which first-year international students desperately need as they adjust to life in Houston, RGA and RVA seem to be the only...