Walkley Square Apts

BE CAREFUL. Two weeks ago, I applied for a bachelor at 286 Wilbrod St. My application was selected and Wendy, the unpleasant and unprofessional person everyone is referring to, asked me to visit the unit over the weekend. I drove from Montreal to Ottawa on a Sunday. The building felt and looked really old. The units are painted a sad cream color, which makes it look smaller, and you can't paint it white. But overall, I liked it. After I let her know on Monday that I would be ready to sign the lease, it took her 5 days to send it to me. The parking spot I asked for in the two forms she previously made me fill was not in the lease, even though she confirmed my request. I asked her to modify the lease to add it and she told me she had no permanent spot left. After I let her know it's a deal breaker for me since I clear from the beginning about needing it, she told me she found one but still wouldn't had it to the lease. She then had the audacity to pressure me to sign and send the first and last month rent (including the parking for both even though she clearly was lying about having a permanent parking spot for me). I am a law student so I kinda knew what to be careful about, but Wendy (and probably her boss too since she still works for him after all those bad reviews) are not honest people. NEVER give your social insurance number. There are few situations in which you must provide your SSN to a business and I strongly believe this is not one of them. This number is your whole identity.

Wendy, the one who answers the phone, is probably the most unpleasant person I have EVER had to deal with. She is SO rude and condescending, I have never seen this. We were staying at 265 Daly Avenue. Once, we got stuck in the elevator for 2 hours and she wanted to send us the bill of the repair guy (900$), even though we respected the maximum number of people in the elevator. It's not our fault that thing is archaic and breaks all the time. It takes forever to come up and down the 6 floors, it's tiny and breaks every month. Then, now that our lease is over, she wants to send us an electrician bill. She claims that we broke the electric system because of a light dimmer. However, the problem happened when the new tenant moved in, and our electricity never ever had a problem during the 3 years we were there. Also, the smell in the lobby and the garage is absolutely disgusting. The building is not safe, some random people have been entering and robbing bikes. There have been some weird bugs in our unit on the 6th floor. You're not allowed to have window AC, so be prepared to sweat a lot in the Summer months. Larry, the super, is really nice and friendly though. But because of the absolutely horrendous Wendy and lobby smell and elevator, I would absolutely stay away from this place. If you're looking for a nice place downtown, with functioning elevators, I had a muuuuuch better experience at Cartier Square apartments, where management was very polite and kind.

the problem is in the administration Wendy is a rude person she is not professional mistreats people bad customer service. She forgets that her tenants pay to live here and that they pay her a salary. She is a difficult person. I have lived here for many years and nobody in this building wants to deal with her. There are people who could be hired and be more kind and professional. the building is well maintained it is clean it is in a good area the people who work here are friendly the only problem is in the administration.

Having lived here for over 5 years now, I can say it's been great considering the fair price. The building is cleaned often, and the elevators have never been broken. When I needed maintenance in the apartment (leaky faucets, broken oven, etc), they sent a repairman within a few hours. I've never had an issue with the parking situation, as I pay for 2 spots (50 ea) in the parking garage, where there is ample room for tenants that are willing to pay the nominal fee for covered (!) parking. The building is pet-friendly and other tenants have friendly, well-mannered dogs!

I’d give this company ZERO stars if I could but unfortunately the lowest is one star. Let’s get started on why I chose this: First of all, I’m a guest of a tenant at 265 Daly Ave and I was visiting this establishment approximately one week ago. Parked my car as I always do at the side of the building and helped the tenant to unload their groceries and get settled into the unit. No signs saying private property and unauthorized cars will be ticketed/towed, and was given previous permission from some bloke named Larry in the past that the tenant and family can use that space to do drop offs. Anyways, Larry aggressively confronts me (24 year old female alone in the garage at night) spewing harassment and threats to have my car towed and ticketed when it was literally there for an hour; then tried to get me to reveal the tenant’s UNIT NUMBER I was visiting knowing I was leaving their apartment and they were alone. On top of that I had no clue who this man was and he only identified himself as a “friend of the owner” until I was informed of his identity later on by the tenant. As found online, in order for Parking Enforcement’s outside contractor to be called, there must be clear signage on the property. This signage should state the following: That it is private property, Unauthorized vehicles can be ticketed/tagged/subject to fines City of Ottawa Parking Bi-law None of this is posted clearly, or at all, on the property so essentially this man is just spewing threats and harassing young women on the grounds at night, acting on behalf of the owner of the property when he’s just a 50 something year old man in a worn Marmot sweater. So in summary, Larry acted on behalf of the landlord and is only a superintendent which is illegal, but not surprising as this company does not abide by laws clearly. Then the next day I find out Larry or one of the employees (maybe Marlon who is just as pleasurable to deal with as Larry, or Wendy) took the time to look up their surveillance footage to see what unit I came out of to give the tenant I was visiting a hard time and saying I was being rude to the man when I even wished him to have a good night and was nothing but trying to stay calm after being interrogated by a man who’s probably 50 but never identified himself to me. Anyways, I call to complain about this altercation and they have ignored my calls (both Marlon and Wendy), will not return my calls and are hiding the identity of the Property Manager so I can’t contact them regarding this. All I asked for was an apology from Larry for being so shaken up from that confrontation and they won’t even give me that. Seems odd to me they have enough time on their hands to watch me on surveillance footage to see what unit I was visiting but can’t even call to give me an apology On top of it they will not respond to any of my emails and just keep saying I parked in an unauthorized area where there’s literally no signage saying this anywhere. They do not accommodate persons with disabilities as they apparently don’t allow any guests to park on their property, which would include any guests with disabilities. I’d rather live in a cardboard box than ever live in this building. Larry, Marlon and Wendy are the rudest people I’ve ever talked to. Just to give you an idea of their customer service, I was hung up on by Marlon and told “you can’t expect the Property Manager to sit around and wait for your hours of availability to call you.” I just asked that the manager contacts me after 3pm on fridays as I’m an essential healthcare worker and this is my only time of availability. If you plan to stay here make sure you know or have a good lawyer because they are SHADY and if any issues arise they will just keep sending you to the same 3 people who have no authority to do anything that can resolve any of your issues. Even the responses from the company blame each person writing a negative review for their experience and not the fact that it’s the less than mediocre “service” this establishment offers.

the unit and building itself are fine but the superintendent on wilbrod lets his kids run around in the hallways unsupervised screaming their heads off at what seems like all hours of the day and night. have asked them politely to quiet down before and its still an issue. I don't pay to live here so that I can listen to children scream directly outside my door all day long. very frustrating to deal with

I am having a hard time getting a hold of anyone who can actually help with a rental with this company. I have no idea why but their phone number doesn't seem to be to anyone local but perhaps is an answering service of some kind. I think this is leading to a severe lack in communication between prospective tenants, current tenants and the actual property management company. Doesn't matter if you call or email, you can't really get a hold of anyone but Larry their maintenance guy downtown for their Sandy Hill units, who is actually a really great person from the few times I have met him. I don't understand why they're so disorganized but it might explain why their listings never seem to change because it seems as though they're struggling to get new tenants because of this issue. The units are pretty nice, there are some logistic issues but that is because old buildings were not made for modern amenities but the units I saw were fabulous. If only I could get a hold of someone who can actually rent to me. EDIT: To respond to the owner; I have been using the official channels you mention and they do not go anywhere. Either you are extremely disorganized or really rude, I am not sure which and chose to give you the benefit of the doubt. The communication issues still remain, I am not the only one who has noted them on google reviews and it is very showing in my mind that you respond to this review but can't to my emails. Since I wasn't contacted in a reasonable time frame, I have had to move forward with a different property management company.

Honestly I would stay away if I were you. Management is horrible and Wendy is extremely rude. She likes to reply to parts of emails and does not keep up with requests. Don’t bother sending detailed emails, she is also rude and accusatory. For those living under this company don’t forget that you have your tenants rights and look to the Ontario Tribunals Board if you need any help. Most home insurance covers legal matters too, so if you have some it’s worth looking into if you have any concerns if you feel like you are not being listened too. Some insurances offer legal advice helplines, its s great resource! (Edit) if their reply to this comment isn’t evidence enough that they don’t really care about their tenants, I don’t know what does. Bottom of the line is DON’T RENT WITH THEM. THE OFFICE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH. THEY REFUSE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR RUFE STAFF