Nicolas Rojas spent his last day in Gainesville graduating, moving out of his apartment and trying to untangle a mess.
The 30-year-old, who left UF with a Masters of Business Administration on May 4, thought his apartment complex was going to offer a flexible move-out policy and prorate rent, letting tenants pay for partial months. It would release him early so he could move to Tampa after graduation.
Instead, he said the complex disregarded oral agreements and tried to stick him with penalties for moving out early — contrary to promises made by management.
“That was my last day living in Gainesville,” he said. “That was it.”
Rojas wasn’t the only one.
The Continuum, a graduate and professional student-housing complex, located at 425 W. University Ave., made and broke similar promises to dozens of tenants, according to a complaint recently filed to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division by Brad Willard, a 31-year-old local attorney and former Continuum resident.
Rojas said seven other people he knows personally were affected. According to the complaint Willard filed, “dozens” of tenants were affected.
Continuum employees do not deny that the agreements were made with leasers, according to the complaint. However, staff deferred the Alligator’s interview request to a spokesman for the management company, Alton Irwin of Alabama-based Capstone Companies.
Irwin initially said he wasn’t aware of the complaint but that he would comment if provided with a copy. Once the Alligator provided a copy to him, he refused to comment.
According to the complaint, Continuum representatives told some tenants who were in the nine-month Masters of Business Administration program that although the contract stated leasing was only available in one-year blocks, they would be able to move out at the end of nine months and could pay for a partial month after graduation.
As the May 4 graduation date for the MBA program neared, Continuum staff began telling residents of a different policy, saying they must give management 45 days notice of move-out if they intended to terminate their leases early. Staff also began telling tenants they would have to pay for the whole month of May if they remained past April 30.
Rojas said The Continuum also added a $1,000 fee and said proration was no longer available. Outgoing residents were told they must move out April 30 or pay for the entire month of May.
Even though Rojas said The Continuum tried to change agreements, the complex eventually waived the $1,000 fee for all residents and let him move out early.
On May 4, Rojas packed up and moved to Tampa.
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The complex — completed in 2011 — displays a logo on its website linking it with UF Housing and Residence Education. The logo labels the complex as a “provident community for University of Florida graduate students.”
UF Housing and Residence Education representatives would not comment on the complaint but instead issued a statement saying, “Issues regarding The Continuum business operations are handled by The Continuum staff. The Continuum is a Capstone Inc. property.”
That linkage is “misleading in the sense that they’re saying they’re advocates for students,” Rojas said.
At the beginning of August, Rojas said, he received an invoice in the mail stating that he owes The Continuum the rest of the rent money for May plus the full amounts for June and July because he “defaulted” on the lease.
“I just want them to know they can’t get away with this,” Willard said.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 8/21/2013 under the headline "Continuum under fire for changing leases"
Residents relax in the courtyard of The Continuum apartment complex Monday. A UF graduate and local attorney recently filed a complaint citing inconsistent leasing policies.
