I was a tenant at Capitol Flats for a full 12-month lease. Before anything else, prospective renters should know: whatever the advertised base rent is, budget several hundred dollars more per month on top of that for utilities, water, trash, electricity, internet, and even bike parking. Application fees. You will be nickel and dimmed for everything. The building itself is cheaply built and overpriced, and the hallways carry persistent, strong toxic odors that made simply walking through them unpleasant. I was forced to run an air purifier constantly and spend hundreds of dollars on replacement filters because the pungent odors burned through them quickly.
I paid rent in full and on time every single month without exception, including full payment for my final month of April.
I vacated the unit a mere 10 days before my lease's natural expiration date of May 10th. Management has since attempted to charge me $7,000 in "early termination" and "lack of advance notice" penalty fees!!!!! No joke.
Here is what makes this particularly troubling: in their own written correspondence to me, management acknowledged that the unit was cleaned and prepared for the new incoming tenant almost immediately after my departure. The unit did not sit vacant. They suffered no lost rent. Despite this, they are pursuing $7,000 in "penalties" from an excellent tenant who paid every bill on time for an entire year and vacated only 10 days before the lease expired.
What followed has been deeply unprofessional. Management began contacting me repeatedly by phone, text, and voicemail -- pressuring me to pay "any amount you can give now." This kind of aggressive, desperate collection behavior toward an excellent tenant -- a single woman with no pets and a spotless tenancy record -- who never once missed a payment is, frankly, disgusting.
I have formally disputed these charges in writing, citing New Mexico landlord-tenant law and their own written admission that a replacement tenant was secured immediately.
If you are considering renting here, read every clause of the lease carefully -- particularly the "early termination" and the "90 day advance notice" penalty provisions -- and understand that management may pursue large financial penalties even when they have suffered no actual financial harm, and may harass you to collect them.
My issue is still unresolved and they continue to try and collect 7,000 in "penalties" from me. Most Americans right now cant even afford groceries. read more
