All 22 tenant reviews.

“Pros: location is good Cons: building management is incredibly irresponsive. There is not working heat in the building and they do nothing to fix it. Advice to landlord: fix the heat and take better care of the building”

“Pros: Loved the location close to NYU and bars and restaurants Cons: Had issues with heating for many days in the winter had to buy a space heater. Could only email landlord did not have a direct number. Exorbitant costs for minor things Advice to landlord: Give tenants a direct number to be used for emergencies”

“Pros: great location on the "quiet" block of saint marks, in the middle of the EV Cons: Management is awful. Worst NYC rental experience I've had. Pests, non-functioning plumbing/heat/appliances, water leaks, and petty issuance of fines to all residents. Can research the 311 violations, the criminal activity, or the various posts on the internet about the owners. Advice to landlord: "In New York City, during the winter months (October 1st to May 31st), landlords are legally required to maintain specific indoor temperatures in residential buildings. Specifically, during the day (6:00 AM to 10:00 PM), if the outside temperature falls below 55°F, the inside temperature must be at least 68°F. At night (10:00 PM to 6:00 AM), the indoor temperature must be at least 62°F, regardless of the outside temperature"”

“Pros: Nothing nothing nothing Cons: RITA CHOU IS TERRIBLE. Worst landlord ever experienced living in NYC for 6 years now. PLEASE NEVER RENT FROM HER”

“Unit 5A Pros: Location was good. Cons: Rita Chou was one of the worst landlords I've ever met in my life. Not only did she not solve problems (we had to manage rats and other pests on our own), she "fined" us for not moving out on time, even though we had been out of the apartment for 3 days. We had just not informed her of our leaving, and she took $750 from our security deposit. This is after she fined us for multiple other infractions that were not noted anywhere. She fined us for a bounced rent check when SHE FAILED to cash the check on time (the funds were in my account). I believe this is illegal, as she withheld money from our security deposit without due cause. However, it's in the lease that if we take her to small claims and she wins, we have to pay her lawyer's bills. It didn't feel worth it. DO NOT RENT WITH RIPEL LLC, ROBERT CHOU, RITA CHOU, KATHERINE CHOU, EMPIRE CONDOMINIUMS. She clearly tried to withhold her name from us so we wouldn't realize how terrible she is, and they open new LLCs for each property so it's difficult to do research on them as landlords. Terrible experience. Would not recommend to anyone. Advice to landlord: Sell the property.”

“Pros: good location and access to resturaunts Cons: incredibly inadequate heat and overall uncleanliness”

“Unit 4A Pros: Location is good Cons: Poor and unresponsive management, Overpriced, Penny-pinching landlord, Mice and pigeons, Package stealing, Dirty”

“Pros: Rooms have large closets and the location is great Cons: If you like having an accessible landlord this is not the place for you Advice to landlord: Provide more prompt responses to tenant concerns”

“Pros: Good location rooms are fairly big for NYC Cons: Management is not super responsive. Sometimes it takes them a bit to respond to emails. No laundry in the building. Advice to landlord: Be more responsive to your tenants”

“Pros: Building was well maintained, structurally sound had good water pressure. Cons: Packages were constantly stolen from downstairs. Neighbors were polite but very noisy. Bugs and mice were constant problems.”

“Pros: location, size of unit Cons: this landlord is the biggest crook to ever grace the east village. good luck ever getting a prompt response from her, actually fixing maintenance issues (not just a bandaid solution), getting a digital copy of your lease (she will charge you $50 for one), consistent working heat, leaking ceilings, and general compassion and kindness. rita chou is the sole "employee" of ripel llc and will never give you a phone number to contact her (email only). when she does call you unannounced its from a blocked number so you cannot call her back. I implore you to not live her. Advice to landlord: find a soul”

“Pros: Good location, and the building is generally well maintained. Cons: Somewhat Expensive, but otherwise not too bad overall Advice to landlord: N/A”

“Unit 5B Pros: Location is prime. The building itself is so-so; common areas really would benefit from a facelift (paint in the halls is mismatched/scuffed/patched, floor tiles are cracked in a few places). Apartments are small for the price, but get the job done. Cons: Where do I even begin? Management is a nightmare. Rita I concerned about one thing only, and that’s collecting what she feels she is owed. There is no leniency, no flexibility, no courtesy, and no help - if you’re asking for something above the bare minimum required of her, expect a no (often in an exceedingly condescending manner). Want to find out your landlord’s name? Look at the building’s tax docs (she never tells you!) Want to contact Rita with an emergency? Email only - you will never be given a phone number to contact!! Email replies come quickly, but are often condescending, with solutions happening on management’s timeline, which prioritizes cost over efficiency and convenience. Rita will hide behind the lease, quoting it back to you at all opportunities, but then become aggressive when you begin to quote the lease back at her. The nearly 20-page agreement is loaded with extraneous fees for non-standard violations, and you better believe she’ll charge you for any and all of them with no warnings. Rita is obviously overwhelmed as the sole manager of this building and another in Manhattan, which is almost funny as she frequently refers to a collective “we” for management decisions. She enforced a strict double standards where she can make mistakes, but you cannot. Aside from management, during the year I spent in this building, we required direct action from management/maintenance staff on at least 4 separate occasions. This is outside of repairs we did ourselves (as outlined in the lease, there is a fee for unnecessary maintenance calls) and monthly exterminator visits (no roaches at the time, but we had mice when we moved in). Fixes seem like bandaids rather than proactive solutions, so expect appliances to break down during your lease. You may be thinking your experience will be different, like I did when I signed my lease, but I promise you things will not change. Avoid living in either of the two buildings owned by Rita, Ripel LLC, and Living Spaces LLC (or whatever she renames the LLC to when you’re reading this). It’s not worth the headache or the arm and a leg they’ll charge for rent and added fees. Advice to landlord: Consider a respectful relationship with tenants instead of approaching with legalese, condescension, and fines. A management company or additional staff will also help with the fact that you’re obviously overwhelmed by what appears to be a fairly straightforward operation.”

“Pros: Location is great Cons: The trash bins where tenants take their unit garbage is located half a set of stairs below the entry- no door, no lids on the bins even, nothing. So of course there will be an awful smell and cockroaches and mice roaming around. When I lived here, as soon as we moved in all gas was cut off to all units. Meaning we were unable to use our stove or ovens. This went on for 10/12 months of the lease. NO rent reduction or reimbursement or anything, just rude responses basically saying “that’s too bad”. Gave us a single-burner portable stove to plug in. Which of course will increase electricity bill but obviously no help there either. Upon lease ending, landlord said we must return them cleaned spotless and in original packaging or we would be charged $60 (they were $30 on Amazon when we checked). When moving in made sure to take photos of ALL the dents, scratches, dirty un cleaned oven, etc. When landlord inspected apartment to move out, tried to say we caused the damage. We sent time-stamped photos from when we moved in. Response was “you could have easily edited those photos”- what!?!? Also had a mouse in the apartment and not to get into it but you can probably guess by now just how helpful the landlord was. Two front doors, first one is not locked. Had people sleeping in that vestibule. Door lost its doorknob at one point at took about a week to get it replaced not with tape the tenants use to try and even access their home. Advice to landlord: Try acting like a human being and realize that real people live here, it’s not just a passive income property that you can ignore.”

“Pros: Location + terraces Cons: Living here was never a pleasant experience. Gas was not working. Bedroom doors to terrace do not seal. Very tiny 2bd apt. Garbage management in the basement is appalling - rodents crawl in and out of bins. Upon leaving, management illegally withheld portions of security deposit for frivolous things like: - not replacing batteries in smoke detector - not cleaning filter in window ac unit before leaving unit - management’s convenience fee for depositing the security deposit in an interest-bearing savings account far exceeded the amount of interest earned - the list goes on We went to small claims court to dispute these charges and, 2 years later, we settled to get some of it returned. Renter beware.”

“Pros: the neighbours were okay Cons: Dealing with this landlord has been a horrible experience (Rita Chou/Ripel LLC). She has no regard for tenants or cleanliness of the building and has a very accusatory attitude for someone who has not even provided a habitable apartment for us to live in (by NYC code/legal standards). She painted over black mould in our bathtub prior to move in that ate through the paint in days. When we asked her to remove it she did not. During move in the apartment was still being painted. When we complained about fumes she said that we just had to deal with it. Rats in the basement, refusal to cooperate and charging us an excessive amount from our security deposit for nothing. She even charged us from the security deposit money for finishing the move 3 minutes (and yes we have this on the record) after the final time she gave us -- during the height of the pandemic so that should tell you how she is. No gas for 6 months and while we were provided a hot plate, there was no urgency on her end to reinstate gas. Rats in the basement, mold, gas issues, disrespectful behaviour to tenants depending on her mood, I could go on. Tenants - don't be afraid to call 311 if you need to. Stay far away from here. Advice to landlord: Treat tenants with respect and don't paint over mold”

“Unit 5B Pros: Strong water pressure, good hot and cold water Great location Strong Heat Cons: Deceptive Management Personnel (Rita C.) and Management Practices Poor communication from management Inflexible Management Infestation (cockroaches and rodents spotted once a month on average for a 12month lease) Lack of Kitchen Storage Uneven floors Thin walls (can hear normal conversations from neighbor) Small space (436 sqft) No active/working kitchen vents No active/working Bathroom Vents Shower Controls very temperamental (shifts from very hot to very cold instantly) Heater controls do not work properly Advice to landlord: Fire your head officer (Rita Chou), redefine what kind of manager you want to be Take a more tenant-centric approach and it will payoff in the long run”

“Unit 2C Pros: Great location, some apartments have outdoor space Cons: Had mouse issues - need to get a rodent control company to ensure your apartment is sealed. There is an exterminator once a month that comes by. Garbage is collected in basement but there's a frequent smell of garbage. The contact you have with the property owner is limited to email, with varying responsiveness, and often met with rude or curt responses. Advice to landlord: Provide contact information for maintenance in case of off-hours issues.”

“Pros: Beautiful terrace in Apt 4B Cons: Mice in apartment, landlord is terrible, unresponsive, not helpful, and incredibly rude. Advice to landlord: I would advise against living her simply because landlord is so terrible and the mice problem is bad.”

“Pros: Good location on St Mark's Cons: Oven didn't work for 6 months with no rent decrease; workmen are the landlords family rather than professionals; cockroaches and mice throughout the building; landlord is extremely inflexible; homeless people sleep in the vestibule Advice to landlord: Stop assuming the worst in your tenants; lock the front door of the building”

“Pros: inexpensive apartment and right in the middle of the east village Cons: noisy, hallways smell like trash kept at bottom of stairs, landlord nickel and dimes you on exit, landlord does not make amenable maintenance repair requests Advice to landlord: please treat yourself tenants with some level of human decency”

“Pros: In the middle of saint marks Cons: Loud at night because of the bar downstairs, walls are super thin, during the winter the heater does not work properly, and huge cockroaches Advice to landlord: Have better communication skills”