LVL West — Local services in Philadelphia

To any prospective tenant considering LVL West, I implore you to recognize this review as a formal warning. My experience with this property's management, owned by 4301 Chestnut, LLC, and managed by Alterra Property Group, has been defined by blatant contractual violations, gross staff incompetence, and calculated disregard for Pennsylvania law.

The most egregious issue is the unlawful withholding of our $500 security deposit and unauthorized use of my utility account, a direct violation of state law. Under Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, specifically 68 P.S. § 250.512, a landlord is required to return a tenant's security deposit within 30 days of the termination of the lease and surrender of the premises. We fulfilled every contractual obligation, paid our final rent in full, and officially surrendered the apartment on May 28, 2025. Management, therefore, had a legal deadline of June 28, 2025, to return our funds.

Section 50 of our lease, "Deposit Return, Surrender, and Abandonment," the deposit must be mailed "no later than 30 days after surrender". The same section explicitly defines "surrender" as the moment "all apartment keys and access devices have been turned in, where rent is paid".

By their own contract, the 30-day legal deadline for our refund was June 28, 2025. They have failed to comply. This is a direct violation of Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. § 250.512), which makes them liable for double the amount for this illegal act.

They have failed to do so. The law is not ambiguous. By refusing to return our deposit within the 30-day window, LVL West has forfeited all rights to withhold any portion of the deposit and is liable for double the amount of the deposit. Their actions are not just unethical; they are illegal.

In addition to withholding our deposit, LVL West management used our utility account after we had moved out. After surrendering the premises on May 28, we discovered that electricity, water, and sewer services were still being consumed in the empty apartment and billed to our account.

This was possible because Section 7 of the lease, 'UTILITIES,' contractually forbids a tenant from disconnecting services before the official end of the lease term. The clause states, "You must not allow utilities to be disconnected for any reason...until the lease term or renewal period ends".

While we adhered to this rule, LVL West exploited it. It seems the still-active account was used to cover utility costs, which we suspect were for preparing the unit for the next tenant. When we provided proof of this usage and requested reimbursement, management refused to take responsibility and has been purposefully failing to reimburse. Specifically, Jared Tracy and Ben Bevan have said the reimbursement check is in the mail since August, but as of November 7th, we have never received the unauthorized usage reimbursement.

This illegal behavior is enabled by a stunning level of incompetence. Throughout our moveout, the property manager was consistently unresponsive to basic emails, making it nearly impossible to get straightforward answers regarding early move-out.

A WARNING FOR OUT-OF-STATE STUDENTS GOING TO UPENN

Be aware if you plan to leave Pennsylvania after your lease ends. To sue for the return of a withheld security deposit, you will likely be required to appear in a Philadelphia court in person. The cost of travel to Philadelphia for a court date creates a barrier to pursuing a claim for anyone who...

This building caused me serious psychological distress and health issues from constant stress. It was like living in a factory all day and night.

The building has endless problems: • Noise & HVAC: The HVAC is unbearable. It’s incredibly loud, shakes the walls and floors, and roars through the night whenever neighbors turn it on. If you are considering living here, ask them to turn on the HVAC in the unit and see if you can live with that. On hot days, it wouldn’t even cool below 75°F. Living here meant no peace, no sleep. • Maintenance & Facilities: Leaks everywhere, trash chutes that don’t work, bugs constantly flying in because nothing seals properly. Hot water outages happened over and over again. When I first moved in, the elevators didn’t even work — completely unacceptable for a residential building. And the laundry machines? They’re a nightmare — unbearably loud and take 7 hours just to wash and dry a single load. • Safety & Alarms: Fire alarms randomly blaring for no reason — sometimes in the middle of the night. Beyond disruptive, it’s dangerous because tenants start to not leave the apartment because of all the false alarms. • Apartment Quality: Shades don’t block light, insulation is awful, and the construction feels cheap all around. • Management: Property management is negligent and dismissive towards tenants instead of solving issues. Nothing ever gets followed up on even if you act kindly towards them. • Turnover: Staff turnover is through the roof — maintenance, front desk, cleaning, leasing. That alone should tell you how this place is run.

I’ve spoken to other tenants and they’ve had the same terrible experiences. This place is a disaster that damages your health, your peace of mind, and your trust. The way tenants are treated is unacceptable. This property should be shut down until they fix the...

When I first moved in the building was definitely still figuring some issues out, there were issues with hot water outages and fire alarms going off but those all got resolved within a few weeks of them becoming an issue. It seemed like the issues arose because it was such a new building. I haven't had any recurring issues like that in the last 6 months. The units can get a little hot if the air isn't running all the time and the in-unit can be annoying but I vastly prefer it to having to leave my apartment. I also saw a lot of reviews about noise, I only had another unit on one side but I never heard anything unless someone was right outside my door in the hallway. I didn't have many maintenance requests but every time I did they were resolved quickly. People were always very nice, especially those working in maintenance and at the front desk (those the people I interacted with the most). The amenities, including the gym and the package delivery were always great and I would...