Lark Athens, athens-ga

1/10/2026: UPDATE. Since I had no way out of breaking my old lease, the old manager switched me to a new apartment. MORE MOLD. Legit hairy mold growing on my window sill. ( I added more pictures) The pool has been closed since last year, with absolutely no update on when it will be open. Maybe some kind of incentive for taking the pool away the whole time it was warm..? No, the best part is NEW management (turnover rate is high for managers) has the audacity to raise rates for this dump but can’t give the residents the common decency to inform them maybe when it could possibly open. So anyone considering signing here, there is no pool still. It’s managements fault the pool got shut down in the first place. The trash is getting worse, the rat problem is getting worse. Owls now hangout near the trash compactor because the amount of rats that decided to make the Lark their new home. Oh, and homeless still digs in the trash! I beg anyone who considers this place to understand that the 1 star reviews are genuine. The 5 star reviews are raffles to get prizes. 2025: this place is an absolute public health hazard and a lawsuit waiting to happen. I don’t even know where to begin with my experience living here. talk about false promises. they promised me new carpet in my room as the previous tenant that occupied my room destroyed it with the zoo of animals that lived in there. but continuously tried to charge me the $330 damage fee for carpet I didn’t even mess up. I have emailed and called multiple times about getting it replaced and never heard anything back even though I have emails saved to them agreeing to replacing it. mold everywhere. my room. my bathroom. my living room. and they constantly blame it on the “metal windows” and do nothing about it. the trash compactor is a joke. piles of trash 24/7. even to the point where the HOMELESS rummage through it. rats all the time. and to continue on the homeless. multiple times they have been caught sleeping in the pool bathrooms and stairs wells. but authorities are never contacted, they are simply just escorted by management to the front of the property and released just for them to come back. and that lovely resort pool has been closed for months. corporate came to shut it down because it didn’t pass inspection, just for me to overhear corporate themselves say “that no human should be swimming in that pool. its unsafe.” the gate they promise “for safety” never works. its always broken. residents get their cars broken into and their license plates stolen. mind you, I resigned my lease here and still pay for my room but personally chose to leave my apartment because living here is a total nightmare.

I high recommend no one lives at lark and Ill explain why. Pros: - Good location - Rooms are big Cons: - When my room was flooded last semester we had to deal with a week of loud fans and maintenance coming in at any time during the day and had to beg to be moved to another room (once we were moved it was 2 bed 1 bath and we still had to pay the same 2 bed 2 bath rate.) - They will spend as much money as needed fixing the gate but once it comes to fixing the flashing lights in the hallways or the numerous bugs and trash there as well it is "We will work on it soon!" - Parking is maliciously unclear on their FAQ, community policy, Leasing agreement, and on the physical signs. Had a couple guests come visit to hang out and they all got towed in the visitor parking when the leasing agreement claims 24 hour parking is valid. (They will also bombard you with 5-10 emails a week and we recieved 1 email which gave us the "rule" that all visitors require a pass which you can *only get while the office is open*) - My dryer has been dysfunctional ever since moving in (requires 2 80 minute cycles to dry 1 batch) and after 7-8 work requests over the course of a year they have still never fixed it. - Packages can only be picked up 10am-6pm M-F (this is quite frustrating as a college student with a part time job since I am busy during these times often) - There is a horrid stench within a 50-100ft radius around the trash which is never fixed/cleaned for more than a day - There is always a rat or 2 which will greet you when you need to throw away your trash and recycle There is many more issues however I believe my point has been made. I also sent an email to lark before posting this if there was any way to fix any of the following, however either promises were not fulfilled (it has been over a month) or they did not wish to help. EDIT 1: Added Photos and video of some things I was talking abt (lights flickering/dirty hallway and parking issues) EDIT 2: not letting me upload videos at the moment Ill try and have it up at some point EDIT 3: Lark had the Gall to say “this should be an email so we can ‘properly’ escalate” as if i didnt send this entire list of issues and warn them they can either fix it or I can post it. Each response they gave showed they were completely uninterested in helping out their resident as long as they are squeezing out the money from college students 😹😹😹

UPDATE: Bibles were somehow left in our apartment and a few others as well. This feels highly inappropriate and a violation of our privacy, especially considering our door was locked. I have been living at the Lark for two years, and while there are some positives to living here, the negatives ultimately outweigh the overall experience. Positives: Apartments are bigger and spacious, and it is generally a nice place to live in terms of location and price. It is also one of the less expensive housing options downtown. Negatives: There have been numerous ongoing issues that remain unresolved and fall well below the standard expected for student housing: Caught two lizards in my bathroom Many, many ladybug-type bugs throughout the entire apartment Roommates found a roach in their bathroom Multiple maintenance requests submitted to address pest control issues (which are stated as services provided in the lease agreement) were marked “resolved” but were never actually addressed AC/Heating randomly increase and decrease depending on if it is on cool/heat mode. Set apartment to 72 degrees and in a few hours, without tampering or changing temp settings, it skyrocketed to 81 degrees. It was unliveable Sink was non-functional upon move-in, and the room was not properly cleaned Move-out charges that appeared inconsistent with Georgia law, including charges for normal wear and tear. I was not allowed to dispute the charge after raising concerns, and my balance was subsequently sent to collections While hosting a surprise graduation party in the common space that had been approved by the front desk beforehand, management walked in, interrupted the event, and warned that decorations or trash could result in charges to my account. This could have been communicated via email and felt extremely unprofessional to address during an active gathering Giant rats — likely the size of a forearm — near the trash chute Only one trash chute located on the first floor, creating significant inconvenience requiring elevator or stair access Hallway conditions are unsanitary, including dried vomit and urine that remained uncleaned Mold present under shower tiles that has not been addressed Overall deterioration of the apartment, including multiple damaged doors such as the closet and laundry doors Laundry machine malfunctioned and ran overnight, significantly increasing the utility bill. When I attempted to dispute the charge, management rejected the request and directed me to the power company, stating the bill was “normal” despite the equipment failure Strict management policies regarding guest parking and pet registration, including warnings of fees simply for asking clarification questions, while building security concerns — such as non-residents entering the premises — appeared inconsistently addressed The surrounding area often feels unsafe; I have personally heard gunshots from my unit and remain unsure whether security is present 24/7 Purchased the furniture package but received a torn up sofa and lived without stools for the whole year, only to later be charged for stools and sofa repair upon move-out No AC available in the gym Elevator is usually broken Random water inspections that are announced the day before, leaving water off for hours at a time and sometimes even the whole day Overall consensus: Try not to live here unless you absolutely have to. Newberry-managed complexes offer a significantly higher standard of living, are also located in downtown Athens, and are similarly priced. To the Lark: I have seen management responses to other reviews encouraging residents to contact the office directly. With all due respect, I have done so many times and have not received adequate resolutions or responses. I hope future management takes meaningful steps to address my concerns moving forward. At this point, I feel compelled to leave public feedback because private attempts to resolve these issues have not resulted in change.

Management is unhelpful and unresponsive. This place is obviously managed to extract the most possible money with the least amount of work/quality allowed. 5 star reviews are bought/encouraged with giveaway entries! Take all these with a grain of salt as they are basically bought by the complex. -Pool was closed for the entirety of summer with 0 recourse for residents. -Guest parking “privileges” are randomly revoked and guests will be towed extremely quick and price gouged to get their car back. -Mold literally everywhere. You keep cleaning and it keeps coming back -UNSAFE! Frequent car break ins, all exterior doors are broken and unlocked, homeless people will occasionally be wandering the hallways. THERE ARE NO SECURITY CAMERAS! Hit and runs are frequent in the garage. -Hallways and stairwells are gross and never cleaned. -Frequent flooding especially on lowest floor. -Management is condescending and passive aggressive, and will move at a snails pace without respecting the fact that this is your home. Run don’t walk away. You think you’re getting a “good deal” here but the will figure out every other way to extract money, time, and peace from you.

This place was horrible. Moved in and the apartment was disguising. Previous tenets clothes in the laundry, dishwasher machine was missing a rack and had old food in it, oven and sink broken, all furniture damaged in some capacity, and the carpet filled with hair and mold all in the shower. Had issues with black mold all year, and they would come and “fix” it and say they brought in professionals to clean the carpet and it never happened. They would just paint over the mold stain and say they cleaned the carpet. The gate was always broken to the parking deck and the main floor, meaning virtually no security. Elevator broken half the time. The trash has rats and overflows, and you can’t pick up any packages on the weekend or after 6pm. They also wouldn’t pro-rate the rent, so I wasn’t allowed to move in until August 18th (literal day before classes start) and was charged a full first month’s rent. If I wanted to move in a week early it was $300. Move out and they charged me $225 for one paint “damage” and the spot was the size of a quarter and they wouldn’t tell me where in the apartment it was. I tried to dispute and they wouldn’t give me any transparency to the charge or show me it to compare it to my move in survey. I lived here my last year of college to live downtown and so glad only one year.