PlayaLife I.V., goleta-cal

Richard Doherty is by far the worst landlord we have ever had. He will take advantage of you and make things up to keep your security deposit. We also had a severe mold problem. We got our house professionally tested and it came back with incredibly dangerous levels of toxic black mold. Even after showing him this he just brushed us off and did nothing about it. He also let random people into our house with no warning constantly. As young girls we felt very uncomfortable with this. We also came home from class one day to one of our bathrooms being completely destroyed with no warning and our stuff being thrown everywhere. We were then forced to move out of the room attached to the bathroom for over a week and when this was brought up to Richard he yelled at us and told us to get out of his office. This is not unusual however, because since he does not answer emails you are forced to talked to him in person and the conversation always ends with him screaming at you to get out, even when everything he does is illegal. We were always very nice to him but his anger issues are uncontrolled. Do not sign a lease with Playa Life!!

I see a lot of negative reviews and they just all come across as bratty kids who didn’t get their way. My house mate alleged black mold to try and get out of her lease. There was never any black mold. She was deranged and just looking to get free rent and hop to another place. Turns out she has done this two times. Richard was always super responsive even investigating the false black mold claim they came out cut open a wall and found nothing. Houses on the ocean always will be more damp. But dampness does not always equal mold. You just need to open your windows. They should have charged our house for the false mold claim but they didn’t even though they had to completely re-drywall the area where they cut it open. I appreciate they didn’t punish our entire house for one bad persons actions. Be careful who you move in with if they say they hate all their past roommates they may be a problem. Only downside is just DP being slammed and no place to park. But I enjoyed my time there!

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Moved out and will NEVER return. The owner is extremely rude and degrading. He likes to think he can take advantage of college kids. Unfortunately housing is hard to come by in Isla vista so people will keep renting from him. Try to stay away if possible. For your own sake. Our laundry machine has been broken pretty much the entire year. We were lied to each time and were told he “ordered a new one”. Communication is terrible— we are never told when a repair man is coming by the house. Never got the washing machine repaired btw! Had a black mold problem and was told that we could just “move out if it was such a problem” We were told we were required to do something over the phone and in person, but it seemed off so I had my dad email him about it because he knows more than me and is the one paying.. he replied back to my dad and said “I never said that” because he got scared once an actual adult came into the picture. Multiple of us were there when he previously said it though. The next week when I went into his office to clarify, a side comment was made about “consulting with my daddy”. He is clearly threatened by daddy’s! 😢 Definitely pays people to write good reviews….

Leasing from PlayaLife has been a wonderful experience! The ocean view from my house is stunning and I feel very lucky to live at such an amazing property. The staff here are always helpful and quick to respond to any issues or inquiries, which has made my stay even more enjoyable. I'm glad I chose Playalife IV for housing this year, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable and convenient living situation!

Upon moving into the house the place was dirty and needed deep cleaning. When maintenance is needed they are defensive and rude on the phone and disrespectful to the tenants.