TAMPA, Fla. — Several USF students have seen their school year get off to a nasty start.


What You Need To Know

  • USF students living at Ivy Apartments in Tampa report long list of problems including mold, holes in the wall, water damage

  • Spectrum Bay News 9 reporter was escorted off property while talking to students

  • BELOW: Ivy Apartments statement to Spectrum Bay News 9

Ivy Apartments escorted Spectrum Bay News 9’s Ashonti Ford off the premises early Tuesday morning after they saw her talking to students about their living conditions.

Those included mold, water damage and holes in the wall. Many students said they had to submit multiple work orders to maintenance right after moving in.

“The move-in process was pretty bad,” said USF student Maxwell Weiseln.

And that’s the same situation for other USF students Spectrum Bay News 9 spoke to who had just moved into Ivy Apartments.

“There’s been like a million issues. Water damage, people's roofs are caving in, mold,” said student Zachary Heinsen.

Other students had long lists detailing their problems.

“The entire apartment smelled of smoke, animals and urine,” said sophomore Dallas Bethune. 

“The apartment feels really damp. I struggled to tell, but my roommates have strong feelings about it. They want to get an air humidifier but they are quite expensive.”

Bethune joined several others on a long list of work orders put into maintenance, and the complex provided a statement to Spectrum Bay News 9 saying they are working to resolve the issues.

It said: “We recognize the move-in experience for some of our residents was not up to our standards and we understand the importance and urgency to resolve any issues with our resident’s homes. We have deployed significant maintenance and customer service resources to ensure we are resolving any issues as quickly as possible. For those who were unable to move-in on their scheduled move-in day, we have provided hotel accommodations at no cost to those residents. We appreciate all our residents and their patience during this time.”