Lofts at Kendall Square Apartments

The front office management behaved unacceptably. Before the big rent increase, they told us, “we weren’t supposed to know what the unit was going for.” They raised the rent by more than $600 a month and said their algorithm showed it was market rate. After the unit sat unsigned for over a month, they reduced the increase, but it was still just over $500 a month more. I would never sign a lease here.

I love living here. The apartment is gorgeous and visitors compliment it all the time. The staff are lovely and always ready to go above and beyond for residents. I’m grateful for the amenities, community events, and the nice gifts and other perks. They treat us so well that it almost feels like having an extended family. Just wanted to say thank you!

I can’t recommend living at the Lofts at Kendall Square. We paid exorbitant rent while dealing with serious apartment problems and management that wouldn’t respond to real concerns. Our rent went up every year even as we told them how unhappy we were with the way residents were treated. The worst ongoing issue was the bathroom. From move-in, the toilet barely flushed and often took 4-5 tries. The shower pressure was so weak it was nearly unusable, and it didn’t drain, leaving me standing in five inches of scummy water. I asked repeatedly for repairs, but maintenance seemed annoyed and said, “That’s how it is, there’s nothing wrong with it.” It got so bad I showered at the gym. Over two years, I probably took only 12 bad showers in the apartment because it wasn’t usable. The heat in my room was out for my entire first year. During that first winter, repeated repair requests got the same response, “It looks fine to me,” so I went without heat and basically couldn’t use that room. The following winter they again claimed nothing was wrong. After I kept pushing, they finally admitted the whole heating unit was faulty and replaced it. Water also came through the ceiling via the sprinkler system at random times. When we asked them to investigate because our belongings could be damaged by flooding, they asked, “Well, is it happening right now?” They said they couldn’t do anything unless it was happening at that moment. They simply refused to look into water literally pouring through the ceiling. Once we came home to find plaster dust covering the entire apartment and all our belongings. We didn’t know what the powder was and worried about our dog’s health. The office was apathetic when we reported it. Other building problems made daily life harder. The elevator broke unpredictably and could stay down for a week. We chose an elevator building because of a health issue, and having to walk to the next building to use its elevator worsened the mobility problem we were experiencing. For nearly our first year, the lobby fire alarm went off every weekend, often all weekend. The fire department came at first, then stopped responding. A malfunctioning alarm that nobody responds to is a serious safety hazard, and it was also awful to hear whenever we went through the lobby. They seemed to fix it after about a year, but letting it continue that long showed how little they cared about residents. When we were both unexpectedly laid off and our finances became dire, we decided to move home at the end of our lease. Even though we gave more than 30 days’ notice and weren’t breaking the lease, they said we were late under its terms and charged us an enormous move-out fee. They also claimed we couldn’t live there during that period unless we paid another $2,000 a month on top of our usual rent, despite having paid a month’s rent. When we explained that we’d both lost our jobs, they used hostile language and almost immediately threatened collections. If you’re paying this much rent, find somewhere that won’t treat you this way.

The management team’s behavior feels close to bullying, and I believe Black tenants and people in inclusionary housing are being targeted. They’ve had problems with multiple tenants. I owed $10 after years of paying on time, and they took me to court to try to evict me. Maintenance is often late, and the elevator goes out every other week. Sometimes they seem willing to work with you, then suddenly change dates and use little tactics to undermine their relationship with tenants. It’s shameful. People are leaving because of prejudice, not because their needs were met.