The Greystar Review · Follow-up

When the Building Fails: Elevators, Water, Mold and Who Answers the Phone

Local reporters have documented building problems at Greystar-managed properties. How the company and the owners responded is part of each story.

The lobby of a sleek high-rise with an elevator stuck open and dark, a bucket catching drips from a stained ceiling and a single red warning light above the doors, in sepia ink-wash style.
Illustration generated with ElevenLabs. It depicts no real people, properties or documents.

Local news is where most building-condition stories about Greystar surface. The accounts below are residents' descriptions as reported by named outlets. What stands out across them is not only the problem but who responded, and how.

Elevators

In Washington, D.C., NBC4 reported that residents of the 14-story Onyx on First said all three elevators had been mostly out of service for days. Greystar, the manager, referred questions to the owner. The owner said repairs were underway and the elevators were running four hours a day.

In Atlanta, residents of Ascent at Peachtree said repeated elevator outages over several months forced them to climb multiple flights of stairs. FOX 5 said it made multiple attempts to reach Greystar and had no response at publication.

Water

Yellow Scene Magazine reported that residents of Welton Park in Denver went about ten days without clean running water, affecting roughly 195 units.

In Albuquerque, KOB 4 reported that a disabled Section 8 tenant's unit at Copper Hills flooded in February and again in August, leaving ceiling holes, warped cabinets and ruined furniture. He said Greystar told him it could not help because he lacked renter's insurance. KOB said the leasing office was closed during business hours and it could not reach Greystar.

Mold and leaks

A tenant at Avana Lexington in Nashville told NewsChannel 5 he no longer felt comfortable in his apartment because of spreading mold. A Greystar spokesperson said the resident had filed a work order two days earlier and the company was investigating.

In Charlotte, WCNC reported a SkyHouse Uptown tenant's repeated water-damage incidents. She described a "lackadaisical approach from management" and sued Greystar in 2022, alleging failure to perform necessary maintenance.

When a city weighs in

2UrbanGirls reported that the City of Los Angeles deemed the SB Main building uninhabitable on September 1, 2022 and ordered repairs by October 12. Residents had documented non-working elevator lighting, mold from unrepaired leaks, debris in stairwells and a front door that would not close.

Denver Westword reported tenant accounts of floods, power outages, unsanitary conditions and property damage at The Grand, a 508-unit complex, along with fire department involvement. Tenants said Greystar was unresponsive to complaints.

Air quality and pests

At Forty55 Lofts in Marina del Rey, a private party filed a Proposition 65 notice in 2021 alleging formaldehyde exposure from flooring, cabinetry or other materials. A resident's Change.org petition asks for indoor air-quality testing and had 108 signatures when reviewed. Both are allegations.

At Mountain Gate in Littleton, tenants described swallows nesting on a building each spring, with droppings, dead birds and bird mites. Greystar told 9NEWS its options are limited because the swallows are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and that it is deterring nesting in compliance with federal law.

Who answers

Across these stories the responses fall into a few groups: Greystar pointing to the owner, a spokesperson confirming a work order and an investigation, a stated legal constraint, and outlets reporting that they could not reach the company. Residents' accounts are one side of each story, and the stories are a selection of what has been reported, not a count of conditions across Greystar's portfolio.

Read the record

Each item below is on The Greystar Review with a link to its original source.

This article summarizes public records and published reporting collected by The Greystar Review. Allegations are described as allegations, and a settlement is not a finding of wrongdoing unless a court or agency says so. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.