Tenants, do not rent from Westward360, and property owners, don't trust them with your properties. They break the law, put tenants in bad situations, and expose property owners to serious legal risks.
My experience with Westward360 was beyond frustrating. I initially liked my "newly rehabbed" garden unit in Northern Chicago, but it wasn't long before things went downhill. When I moved in, they failed to disclose the numerous issues that would eventually come to light, making me feel lied to right from the start.
The problems started immediately. The "new" appliances in my unit were defective. The microwave and dishwasher didn't even power on. When I reported this, the property manager, Renard, screamed at me over the phone, saying it wasn't Westward360's responsibility to ensure my microwave worked. When I mentioned getting an attorney involved, he literally hung up on me. I called their 1-800 number (which connects to an offshore call center), and they gave me the contact for Melissa S., one of their directors.
While Melissa was polite, she bizarrely said she could "see both sides" of my issue with Renard. How is it acceptable for a property manager to behave that way? Eventually, the appliances were replaced, but the process took much longer than what's legally allowed under Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO).
Then things got much worse. During the winter, the heating in my unit failed, and the temperature dropped below 50 degrees, clearly illegal under Chicago's heating ordinance. Despite numerous attempts to contact a person named Ann M. R., a VP at Westward360, I was ignored. When heaters were finally installed, they were electric, and I was forced to pay for the heat, even though the lease explicitly stated they were responsible for providing heat.
Over the next two years, my unit had so many issues, all of which took way too long to resolve. In the summer, when they refused to turn off the heat, my apartment hit dangerously high temperatures, exceeding 90 degrees. I reached out to Melissa S. again, explaining that my apartment was unsafe, especially since leaving the windows open at night wasn't an option due to multiple burglaries in the area. Her response? "Oh, makes sense." It felt dismissive and completely out of touch with the urgency of the situation.
Eventually, Shelby T., the new property manager, stepped in, but even then, the heat wasn't turned off until I had to practically beg them and was in tears.
After finally turning off the heat, they decided to insulate the hot pipes in my unit to prevent any more problems. However, they used the cheapest and tackiest materials available, resulting in sagging insulation. The paper-like covering they used was falling off, exposing fiberglass and posing a health risk, especially given that I have asthma. Shelby T. the "Property Manager" initially promised to fix this but later backtracked, saying no further repairs would be made and falsely claiming that the 14-day repair notice I filed under Chicago's RLTO was invalid.
Finally, Katherine A., who claimed to be the "maintenance director," offered to terminate my lease early instead of addressing the issues. Her attitude, like Shelby's, was very much, "If you don't like it, you can leave," which is not only illegal but insulting after everything I'd been through.
I invested about 41K for a living situation over the years and now no choice but to take them to housing court because they continue to violate the law. Do yourself a favor and avoid Westward360, tenants and property owners alike. read more