Forest Lake Student Housing

Reviews

• SV

  Sebastian Valenzuela

  3 days ago
  1.0
  Forest Lake has some of the worst communication I’ve dealt with. I was switched from a 4x4 to a 3x3 with a larger concession, signed what I was sent, and was never clearly told my guarantor had a deadline that could cause me to lose the room. I later found out they moved me back to a 4x4 without warning, which also meant I couldn’t live with my friends. After that, I was told multiple times that I would receive a new concession. I called, emailed, texted, filled out their financial form, and went into the office multiple times. They constantly said they would call me back and never did. Eventually, they gave me a $165 concession to sign, which both me and my guarantor signed. Then the next day, right before move-in, they told me they couldn’t honor it and I was stuck with the original $50 concession. It honestly feels like Forest Lake does not care about residents once they sign. The communication is terrible, nobody follows up, and you have to chase them just to get basic answers.
• SS

  Samantha Shanahan

  4 days ago
  1.0
  My experience at Forest Lake Apartments in Lutz, Florida has been extremely disappointing, and I would strongly caution students and families considering living here, especially those moving to the University of South Florida area. For two years in a row during the month of August, our AC stopped working, leaving us in high temperatures. Despite repeatedly contacting maintenance and explaining that I had a medical issue that made prolonged exposure to high temperatures unsafe for me, as well as concerns for a pet, maintenance refused or failed to respond in a timely manner. An apartment without working AC in Florida’s August heat is not a minor inconvenience—it is a serious health and safety concern. Security has also been a major issue. There have been repeated instances of non-residents entering the pool area, including people drinking alcohol and using drugs. What is especially frustrating is the apparent lack of accountability and effective security measures to prevent these situations from continuing. For an apartment complex in an area where residents already have safety concerns, you would expect the security gate to actually provide security, particularly at night. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience. The condition of the apartment when we moved in was also unacceptable. There was hair, dirt, dust, bugs, and other debris throughout the apartment. During the lease renewal process, I also had to put my belongings from the common areas into trash bags so maintenance could clean the common area for new roommates who were moving in. This should not have been the responsibility of the existing residents. Communication with maintenance has been another ongoing problem. Calls frequently went unanswered, and the emergency maintenance line was especially frustrating because there were occasions when no one answered at all. At the same time, maintenance and emergency maintenance personnel have entered our apartment unannounced, including times when my three female roommates and I were sleeping or when none of us were home. This raised legitimate safety and privacy concerns. The front office has also been difficult to deal with because different staff members often provide conflicting information, with one person saying one thing and another seemingly having no knowledge. Forest Lake Apartments needs to do much better when it comes to protecting residents, responding to legitimate maintenance emergencies, maintaining the property, communicating consistently, and providing a safe and quality living environment. I would strongly recommend that prospective residents do their research and carefully consider these issues before signing a lease.
• DC

  David Varley (CasualCove)

  5 days ago
  5.0
  Good speed at responding to issues. Old buildings but theyre maintained well. Maintence is fast and typically efficient. Everyone on the front desk staff is wonderful
• MF

  Marjorie Fleurant

  5 days ago
  1.0
  If I could give Forest Lake Apartments zero stars, I would. My experience with this property was defined by incompetence, disorganization, and a complete lack of accountability. The leasing office repeatedly gave me conflicting information, and every employee seemed to have a different answer. Residents should understand that the instructions you receive from one staff member may be completely contradicted by another. I received a text message from the leasing office instructing me to bring my signed addendum and payment on July 31 before the stated deadline. I relied on those written instructions, obtained the required money order, and went to the office prepared to submit my payment. Instead of honoring the instructions they sent me, a staff member made a phone call, returned, refused to accept my payment, and then locked the office door in my face while I was still trying to resolve the issue. Being treated that way after following their own written directions was humiliating, disrespectful, and completely unacceptable. Later that same day, I was informed that my apartment had already been leased to someone else. I was then offered a renewal transfer, instructed to pay the transfer fee and first month's rent, and the office accepted my payment and issued me a receipt. After taking my money, they changed the requirements and informed me that I could no longer move forward. Their mistakes became my problem. Communication at this property is unbelievably poor. Text messages from staff are carelessly written, often contain obvious typos, and, more importantly, contain inaccurate or contradictory information. When something goes wrong, no one accepts responsibility. Instead, residents are left dealing with the financial and emotional consequences of the office's mistakes. Based on my experience, there also appears to be significant staff turnover, which may explain why no one seems to know what anyone else has said or promised. The lack of consistency is astonishing. I would also encourage prospective residents to read all reviews carefully. Don't rely solely on five-star ratings. Consider whether those reviews reflect experiences like mine, where written instructions were ignored, payments were refused, residents were treated disrespectfully, and accountability was nowhere to be found. Read both the positive and negative reviews before making a decision. After everything I experienced, I cannot recommend Forest Lake Apartments to anyone. There are too many places that value honesty, professionalism, and respect to risk trusting a leasing office that failed so completely in all three.
• AF

  A. Feacher

  Jul 22, 2026
  2.0
  I would not recommend Forest Lake Apartments based on my experience with management and how issues are handled. I was supposed to move into my new unit on August 1, as stated in my signed lease. After signing my renewal, I was informed that the unit would not be ready until August 10th. I was also told that I would have to pay a $350 transfer fee to remain in my current apartment until the new unit is ready, even though the delay was not something I agreed to in my signed lease. When I asked for documentation showing where I agreed to a delayed move-in or this transfer process, management could not provide a SIGNED agreement that states move in August 20th only one that says August 1st move in. They only provided messages discussing the renewal after I had already signed my renewal that states move in August 1st. I then contacted Property owner and advised him what’s going on and told them that Forest lake is trying to make me pay the transfer fee to stay in my apartment and the owner advised me that my apartment will be ready August 3 and he never mentioned the fee he also said I could stay in my current apartment until then. Therefore fee was waived and I will be staying in my current until my unit is ready. I have also experienced ongoing issues with management addressing resident concerns. During a previous situation with roommates, I repeatedly reported an unregistered cat, smoking inside the unit, and marijuana-related items being kept in the apartment. I provided pictures and documentation to management every week or two for approximately three months. Even after inspections, I was told there was not enough proof because they could not determine who the items belonged to and how they could be mine. I was advised to contact police if it happened after hours. After about three months of reporting the issue, I was finally moved to another unit. At first they tried to make me pay a transfer fee but this is not my fault I’m moving and after months on end it eventually was waived and I was moved. My concern is not that problems happen it is how long it takes management to respond and the lack of accommodation when residents are dealing with issues outside of their control. I would not recommend Forest Lake Apartments to anyone looking for management that is responsive and willing to properly address resident concerns. The AC also has not been cooling the house for over a month, and the issue still hasn’t been resolved. There has been no follow-up from management and no accommodations offered to the residents despite the ongoing inconvenience. The lack of communication and urgency in addressing a basic maintenance issue has been extremely disappointing. Keys : My key stopped working and the leasing consultant said it was fixed (didn’t work) thank God my roommate was home . The next day my key still didn’t work I came asked was it fixed and they said yes and it wasn’t came back again around 5:40 and didn’t get helped until 6:20pm. A weekish after I moved it key stopped working again so I will be going to fix that again Update : After multiple maintenance requests and “completed / no issues” maintenance replaced the a/c controller and drained the ac recently.

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