To whom it may concern,       

I am Alexander Lipka, a full-time student residing in University Village Apartments. I chose to live on campus in hopes that the school I fund and attend would have me and fellow students back regarding comfortable living. I understand achieving comfortable living is quite a task, but I, and countless students in my residence, have depleted our patience. 

Before starting our grievance I would like to cite the FAU Housing Contract “The University and the Department of Housing and Residential Education are not financially responsible for any outages or outages due to uncontrollable circumstances (i.e. inclement weather or acts of God).” (Utilities and Amenities 17, C) 

8/29, 8/31, 10/18 – Water shut off (without warning) 

10/7- Loss of hot water 

10/11- No water (without notice) 

10/25- No water (without notice) 

Washing machines and dryers

I cannot speak for each unit on this matter but my unit 60, has experienced a complete lack of washer and dry. Since moving in, to today (10/25), we have had no more than 2 functional washers and a constant 2 dryers working “properly.”

We, students, have suffered the loss of time hoping to dry our clothes by the 3rd hour. Me and others have had to pry open self-locking washers to retrieve our clothes before mold sets in. These are not functional utilities and therefore should not be included in a permanent price for UVA. Under your contract, you are financially responsible for poor maintenance, this is no act of weather, God, and in no way an uncontrollable circumstance. There is a more significant problem with the foundation of UVA’s plumbing. Based on the overall state of the apartments I can’t imagine this problem was unknown before being sold to students. 

I and others would be slightly understanding if there were a warning before cutting our water, but there is no such warning. Students using the bathroom are unable to flush a toilet, unable to cook, unable to access drinking water, and unable to wash clothes and shower. This is growing to become a hygiene issue with students unable to brush their teeth in the mornings, this is slow but surely physical damage done to students via poor maintenance. This is unacceptable, I know the problem isn’t one person doing it, but students and residents demand compensation.  

Students here are paying large sums for services that are listed as “available” in our housing contract. It has become increasingly clear that these “amenities” are not readily available and undeniably not constructed to house students. As students, we demand compensation, solutions to this problem, and meetings with officials. We have been unable to get to work and class on time because of these vital issues, this takes away from the classes we pay for, and the work that pays for classes. Our time and money will not be wasted any longer. 

Update as of 11/7/23 

Since writing this letter we have experienced 3-4 more water outages, today (11/7/23) another unannounced. I, on behalf of residents at UVA, am expressing our grievance with the unfinished property we are paying for. Again, I ask for some kind of formal meeting, resolution, or reimbursement. 

Signatures: 

I, Alexander Lipka, am formally providing my electronic signature for the petition of grievances against FAU.

Will Roberts, Wetsaelle Joseph, Sarah Zink, Ashley Decius, Casey Cunningham, Anna Arsenault, Justin Harris, Emily Criniti, Nevaeh Ametrano, Isabel De Leon, Amanda Bernhard, Karissa Keaton, Timothy Kimball, Sarah Martí, Nia James, Brandon Park, Davide Viola, Jozo Cancar, Ambrose Lizardo, Leaf Morse, Anna Booth, Alexander Taylor, Tom Abrahamsson, Alexa Adams, Jaden Head, Taylor Ward, Soraya Gloria, Megan MacDonald, Pierce Ralston, Lindsey Cole, Sofia Dos Santos, Kathryn Miletich, Alexa Shaban, Taylor Bendfeldt, Patricia Pulido, Sierra Sloan, Faith Joslin, Matthew Pavlik, Abigail Casagrande, Lucille Leger, Aniya Moore, Orion Brown, Zach Gorlin, Noah Goins, Ashley Bentov, Emerson Rosenberg, Matt Mikesell, and Justin Isaraphanich.

I, Max Norris, am electronically giving my signature for grievance against FAU along with violation of Implied Warranty of Habitability as stated in Florida Statute 83.51. I moved in to ants that took days for housing to resolve without alternative accommodation and the water and laundry rooms are unacceptable.