Campus Apartments Philadelphia — Local services in Philadelphia

Expect low rent, but lower standards and facilities at Campus Apartments' “professionally managed” buildings.

Pros: Robin R: Robin truly stands out— she shines as the GM with her prompt responses and sincere efforts to make this place livable. Despite juggling a demanding role, her dedication to solving tenant issues is exceptional. Affordability: The rent is reasonably low, includes most utilities, and a flat $10 laundry fee. Location: Proximity to essential amenities and different campuses is very convenient.

Cons: Outdated: The building badly needs updates. Security Issues: Expect package thefts even with lobby cameras (who knows if they even work) and the front door to be wedged open throughout the day. Last week a stranger was sleeping in my hallway on the floor. Inadequate Amenities: No working intercom system for the building so you have to go answer the door for everything; the elevator was out of service for six months; unwanted mail often ends up scattered on the floor; trash piles up at the dumpsters; you’ll definitely see rodents in your unit. Poor Communication: They’ll email you about the office being closed or partnerships they have, but not about the SEPTA construction happening right outside the building or whatever construction UCA/CA has happening right outside your unit.

My specific experiences A bathtub refinishing job led to significant paint damage across my unit. Although Robin quickly addressed the issue with dry cleaning services and a cleaner, the effort fell short—the cleanup was only sweeping and mopping, leaving me to deal with paint dust for weeks. UCA advised filing a claim with my renter's insurance, which was ultimately denied, and then requested an itemized list of damages; it wasn’t worth the headache to do so.

Once my key broke while I was unlocking my door (it’s a plastic fob). Because it was after the main office had closed, I had to wait until the next morning to get a new key (and you can’t lock your door without a key). When I went to get a new one, the worker tried to tell me it was a $75 fee. Even after I explained the key broke in use, she kept telling me it was fee.

CA uses “Plaid” as a third-party platform to pay rent directly from your bank. Once Plaid disconnected and they charged me a $50 NSF fee even though CA claimed it was an “Invalid Account Number”. I tried to have a conversation with Roberta R. at CA about their system creating the issue and she simply wouldn’t listen; she just kept saying “you signed this in your lease.” She is one of the most unprofessional people I’ve encountered in CA.

Thin ceilings mean you hear everything from above, especially when they refuse to carpet the unit between new move-ins. The neighbors sound like they’re going to fall through my ceiling at any given moment. UCA told me that there’s nothing they can do since they “aren’t breaking any rules in the handbook” but that I can call the cops if I continue to have a problem with the noise.

Update for 2025: One year later, not much has improved. I just returned to my apartment and my door was unlocked. When I called UCA's office & asked them to verify for me the times today when someone used a key on my unit (we have a key fob), I was told I needed to hang up and call maintenance to find out. What a mess, so unhelpful, and SO DANGEROUS. Which leads to the next issue UCA/CA continues to ignore-- the building key always sticks. The front door has a traditional key, unlike the fobs for our units, but the keys are clearly worn/old so there's always a delay getting the...

I strongly suggest NOT rent from this company. They do NOT care about their residents at all. I would give negative star if that's possible. Here was my experience: 1, They only care about money. When I first signed my lease, the moving out date was on 25th instead of last day in a month, but I was asked to pay a full month rent for last month, I didn't want to argue, so ok, I paid it. But when I renewed my rent last year, then changed the move out date to 20th! Not to mention how inconvenient that is, I was still asked to pay a full month rent for last month. Seriously??? I only lived in the apt for 20 days, not 30 days for that month! I tried to argue with them, but then of course, nothing happened. 2, The maintenance always took FOREVER. There were several times I had to submit the same request again after several weeks because no one ever came to look at it. There was one time my shower has one O-Ring need to be replaced, so it took them several weeks to come, and then told me they had to buy another o-ring, and guess what, that took them another month. My water leaked for almost two months! I was always worried if it would flood my whole apt. 3, Everything is about money. Yes I said it, but I'll say this again. I asked for a second key once, and I was asked to pay $75 for that key. Seriously, $75 for a key???? I had to return that key when I moved out, so are you serious??? 4, The front desk NEVER knew what they were doing. When you walked in and asked for anything, they'll say, "I'll submit this request/take care of this for you" and then, nothing ever happens. For example, I tried to get my mail box key from them when moved in, and no response after 1 month. I had to go back and submit another request online. I also assume their employees are not happy that's why they constantly get new people. And of course, calling never works. I had to go to their office every time when I need something, bc email or call never got answered, or even if they did answer, they never solved my problem or request. 5, I have always paid my rent on time, even during this pandemic. Yes the lease was 12 month, but as someone that will be moving out of Philly, I asked them if I could renew my lease for another 6 month instead of 12, the answer, as you can imagine, was no. So I had to move out on 20th, paid for full month, and looked for a place for 10 days then moved again, since most leases starts on 1st day. But it was not just that, I called them, emailed them, multiple times, but didn't get a response until much much later which screwed up my entire schedule. 6, I have experienced broken washer and dryer in different property for more than god knows how many times. There was one time all of them were broken for several month, I'm pretty sure many residents complained and sent them maintenance request, but of course, like everything else, they don't get fixed until much much much later, like after several months. 7, I moved in Aug, and was asked if I would like to renew my lease for next year in Nov, which was only three months after moving in. And if not renewing lease? Well, you would get constant visitors to come and see the apt for next year starting Dec or Jan, because they don't care about you at all once moving in, they only cares when you are a potential resident. When I say care, yes, I mean they care about the money you can pay them. This company is only "good" for residents when absolutely nothing goes wrong. If anything goes wrong, then good luck, you're on your own. So my suggestion is you look elsewhere!!! They are the WORST...

Campus apartments is absolutely terrible. It is actually horrendous that they continue to operate. They are only able to continue due to the fact that they own almost all of the property around Penn's campus and thus hold a monopoly on housing. Otherwise, due to their inadequacies in care, customer service, and conscientiousness, they would no doubt cease to exist. We have had such horrible experiences with Campus Apartments, but for your pleasure I will include only a sampling of stories.

Our first lease with Campus Apartments started in June 2014. We moved our furniture in, and during the move-in, discovered to our horror that there was a RAMPANT mouse infestation, as well as PILES of trash from the previous owners left to rot in the backyard. And by piles of trash, I mean the entire backyard was filled to the brim with the previous tenants' copious amounts of food and alcohol waste, rotting and absolutely repugnant. We immediately reported this to Campus Apartments, who assured us the mice and the trash would be taken care of. After moving in our furniture in June (a 1 day endeavor), we all left to go back to our respective homes (me, for example, in Pittsburgh).

When I returned to Philly in late August 2014 for the school year, I had the shock of the lifetime. Not only were the PILES of trash that multiple residents had reported STILL in the backyard, but also the mouse infestation was as great as ever. Mind you, the only things on the property at the time that belonged to us and not the previous tenants were FURNITURE, so most clearly and obviously not our fault that the mice were there. We, more angrily this time, reported this serious issue to Campus Apartments. They begrudgingly removed the trash (after another week and many more complaints from us, and accusing us of the trash being ours) and then set up a few mouse-traps.

Fast forward now to a month later. The mouse problem just wouldn't quit. The mice would run around the counters, run in the walls, run around in the ceilings, terrorizing us day and night. At this point we got a lawyer involved. The lawyer told Campus Apartments until steps were taken to eradicate the vermin, we would no longer be paying rent, as the home was not reasonably taken care of. Our rent went into a escrow account, to be paid once the problem was dealt with. Upon not paying rent for the months of October and November, whilst we were all away at home for the Christmas holiday (of course known by Campus Apartments, as Penn's winter holiday should be known by them) we received in the house a letter by Campus Apartments ordering that we move out. No reasonable steps had yet been taken by Campus Apartments to eradicate the mice. The lawyer then stepped up his game, and after a long, exhausting series of back and forth legal threats, Campus Apartments FINALLY brought an exterminator to the home. To recapitulate, it took 7 months and a legal battle to get an exterminator into the home. This is irresponsible, disgusting and proves Campus Apartments has absolutely no regard whatsoever for...