The Courtyards Student Apartments, ann-arbor-mi

I lived at Courtyard 1780, and the past year was extremely frustrating. I honestly did not want to write review for this, because I wanted to avoid conflict and unnecessary trouble. But after everything that happened over the past year, including constant construction, blocked windows for months, relocation&early morning construction with little notice, high extra charges, and very poor management, I feel like I have to share my experience. Since around last August, the building has been under constant construction. Residents were not really given a meaningful choice or asked for consent. At one point, they arranged a hotel for us, but the hotel was very far away. Later, before winter break, I was suddenly told with only about 10 days’ ahead notice, during final exam period, that I had to move out for the entire winter break. They said they would arrange the hotel, but I had no real choice over where I would stay. The place they gave me was again extremely far from the apartment, and because I had already ordered several international packages before knowing I would have to leave, some of my packages disappeared within just one or two days when I came back to fetch it. I had no way to plan around something I was not told about in advance. Starting early this year, all of our windows were covered by construction sheets for more than four months. For almost the entire winter semester, I could not see any sunlight from my room. The scaffolding outside the building has also been there for about a year, and even after I moved out, it still had not been removed. In June, they also entered the apartment to replace the AC and do construction in the living room. I had to live for several days with no AC while the windows and doors were basically blocked by construction setup. I was woken up by construction noise early in the morning around 7 a.m. (refer to the short video I shared), and our personal belongings were moved during the process(see in the photo of living room I shared). This was extremely uncomfortable and disruptive. The rent for a 3B3B is already more than $1,300 per person per month, which is not cheap at all. On top of that, water used to be included, but starting last fall it was no longer free. The apartment said I only need to pay 50%, but our water bill was over $30 per person per month. I still do not understand how the water bill could be that high. The final straw was the security deposit. After I moved out, they deducted almost $900, claiming damage to a chair and the carpet. I strongly disagree with this charge. I bought and used my own ergonomic chair, so I almost never used their chair after that. I do not understand how it could possibly justify a damage and replacement charge. The carpet charge is even more unreasonable to me. They claimed the carpet needed to be fully replaced and charged me close to $700 for that alone. From what I saw when I moved out, the carpet may have had some dust from normal use, but I did not see anything that would justify a full replacement. Another issue is communication. Since February, I barely received any useful emails from them except advertisements. For important construction or lease-related information, I often had to check the resident portal myself. For an apartment this expensive, the management and communication have been shockingly poor. Overall, I lived here for 3 yrs. To be fair, the first two years were fine, but my experience with Courtyard over the past year was honestly terrible. Most of the residents here are UMich students, and the roommates assigned by the apartment were very nice. The neighbors I met were also friendly and respectful. My problem is with the management. I'm not sure whether it's because their management team has been replaced since last year. It feels like they know most residents are students and assume students will not have the time, energy, or resources to push back. That is what makes this whole experience even more upsetting. I would not recommend this apartment based on my experience.

I lived at Courtyards from August 2025 to December 2025, upon which me and my three roommates were granted a mutual lease termination to leave our apartment. When we first moved into the apartment, we saw that our room was undergoing significant construction. Poles were in the living room, the balcony and living room window were completely closed off, and three out of the four unit bedrooms had windows directly opening to construction pillars. Management didn’t tell us that our unit would be undergoing construction during the semester before we moved in; we had to find out for ourselves. Given the nature of the construction project, we had little transparency on when construction would be taking place. Often very little notice of entry was given, and even when we denied permission for Courtyards to enter our apartment, they would do so anyway despite our requests for more notice and privacy. On one of the weeks, construction workers came in 6 out of 7 days, including on Sunday starting at 9 am, for a total of almost 60 hours of construction taking place in the apartment that week. The construction was very loud and disruptive, and the dust it created caused air quality issues that led to respiratory problems for me and my roommates. After construction, we would often notice significant damage ranging from the door hinge to our HDMI chord being broken. There were cracks in our ceiling that could have caused more issues if we had chosen to continue to live in the apartment the following semester. The apartment had constant maintenance issues ranging from daily plumbing problems to frequent power outages. We did not have central heating for the entire month of November; my roommates and I had to use space heaters but because they caused power outages when we plugged them in at the same time, one or more of us would often have to sleep through the night in cold temperatures. When the central heating was finally fixed in early December, the worker who fixed it told us that the central heating system had a dent in it and the system had significant damage and safety concerns. We tried to utilize the University of Michigan’s legal services to gain transparency on when construction was happening on more notice but this was ineffective. Courtyards would ignore our lawyer's emails for several weeks and rebuff every requested accommodation. Eventually, I wrote an email describing the several adverse physical and mental health consequences that we experienced as a result of the construction and maintenance issues and they granted us a mutual lease termination. The front desk was nice enough and Christy always tried to be accommodating but we felt that the corporation in charge of running the apartment complex did not prioritize our well-being during construction. If you are considering living here, I would say don’t do it. Take your money elsewhere and gain the peace of mind.

During the fall semester 2025, they sent an email warning of construction to install pillars maybe a week or so before, and then for a week every single day at 9am construction crews would hammer and drill away, making it impossible to sleep in after staying up very late studying. The week before that, it was the floor above me. I did not really complain because things happen and I understand that. Later I asked if I would need to transfer apartments if I resigned my lease, as I was concerned about this over the construction. I was told no, then the next day after resigning I was told that I would need to sign a transfer lease. When transferring the lease, I was given one possible day to pickup my keys and transfer all my belongings. They said I could pickup my keys between 3pm and 6pm on August 6th(a Thursday where most people work) and had to have everything out and return the old keys by the next day at 3pm. Working both Thursday and Friday, this gave me an extremely short window to move everything. In that day when transferring, I was told not to unpack stuff into my new room because the carpet is to be replaced. Now I am being told to move everything into the room(all residents holding over received this email) by the 19th or I could face a fine, but I have no idea what is going on with the carpet(UPDATE: The carpet was replaced right after I went out of my way to half move in, so I had to go back again to move the stuff in). I have called twice since then during work hours, left a message, and no response yet. Today I learned I am being fined for a paint stain in my room and food left in the fridge that I did not leave in the fridge as I did not live in the room all summer and I am aware my roomate did. The paint stain(worth about $100 of cleaning fees) was there when I moved in, obviously matches the walls, and was one of the only abnormalities I reported in my inspection when I first moved in the fall. The food (worth about $90 of cleaning fees) was not mine, and I do not live close to campus at all. They gave me an extraordinarily tight window to get everything over to the new apartment given I worked that day and the next day, and I was worrying about having all of my stuff. I cleaned up the whole common area after my roomates(and it was not really messy neither me nor my roomates were pigs at all), and I did not think to look in the fridge. This past year I have felt like like its is one thing after another after another and I have never lost my cool talking to anybody in management but I am absolutely sick of this. They have made me and probably many others bend over backwards for this construction project while charging an absurd price for rent, parking, and pricey annual community fee(given the construction that was not apparent when I first signed), and if you make one small mistake then they see an invitation to siphon your wallet. There is no transparency with the construction project whatsoever. I will carry out my lease for this year and I really hope it goes better, but I cannot recommend this complex to anybody. I understand that many have had good experiences, but I am at my limit with this. UPDATE: As the reply suggests they walked me through and clarified the damage charges, likely a coffee stain I missed during my move in inspection(I only drink water). They took the time to walk me through the charges and couldnt do anything beyond that it seems, and it doesnt really change the fact that last year the living space/furniture was borderline unusable and uncomfortable with the pillars, along with the fact that I was lied to about needing to transfer prior to signing my renewal. Hopefully this year is better and if I would need to transfer again, that information is made known before signing off on a renewal. Also the new carpet they just put in is damaged anyways with an open patch under where my desk is, and I included a picture of the cramped furniture as well for reference(Not all units have pillars, and I believe anyone with pillars transferred for the following year).

Finishing my 4th year at the Courtyard Apartments, & I have so many good things to say. Their communication is top notch, their common areas are always kept nice & clean which makes it easier to lock in and study, the staff always gives me a big smile & is very helpful. The maintenance service is quick & efficient & they're all incredibly nice & don't make me feel like I'm inconveniencing them. It's pretty quiet for college housing. There are never any issues with people smoking which is really nice compared to other properties I've lived at. The trash is emptied & taken out almost daily so it never feels like it piles up. I feel safe walking around at night thanks to the exceptional exterior lighting. Needing a fob to get into any of the buildings makes me feel safe. The internet has been good for me, especially compared to the dorms, & there's always a spot in the parking garage for my car. They have a package locker where you get a code to get it when you get a package which is a great service they offer. I haven't had any issues with pests in the entire time I've lived here, & there not being any animals except for service ones has kept the property pet waste free, which as someone who is allergic to practically every animal helps me see Courtyards really cares about their residents. All in all, incredible experience living here. I hope if I have children Courtyards is still around so I can make sure my kids go here!

I’ve had a really good experience living at Courtyard so far. The location is super convenient for North Campus students. It’s close to the gym, library, dining hall, and bus stops, so getting around campus is easy without needing a car. The building itself is pretty new and well maintained. The management team has also been very responsive whenever there’s a question or maintenance request, and they do a good job keeping the property clean and organized. Overall, I’d definitely recommend Courtyard to other UMich students looking for a convenient and comfortable place to live on North Campus.