Lark in the Woods, tuscaloosa-al

Decent apartment. But the gate is alway broken. Literally just fix it or replace it. The exit gate works but the entry doesn’t. The exit gate opens incredibly slow, so what is the points of having it if you are not gonna have a working entry gate. Also, there is a problem with marijuana. I can smell it at night sometimes and people are clearly smoking on the property or from their cars. Enforce the rules and revoke their leases or have them prosecuted, it’s ridiculous. The hot tub and my room itself is nice though.

To anyone in Tuscaloosa looking for housing: do not sign a lease here. This is my third year living at this property, and every year the experience has only gotten worse. I encourage you to read my previous review and the other low-star reviews, they accurately reflect what goes on here. On the website, the complex advertises clean facilities, a luxury clubhouse and pool, gated entry, 24-hour security, and a smoke-free environment. None of these claims are true. The property is dirty year-round, with trash, used products such as Zyn patches, and vomit throughout, and management makes no effort to clean or hold residents accountable. They only enforce rules when it benefits them financially and ignore violations from certain residents. The “smoke-free” claim is also false. Residents openly smoke both tobacco and marijuana, and despite repeated complaints from myself and others, management refuses to act. The assistant manager selectively chooses who he enforces rules on and who he lets get away with things. Marijuana is illegal in Alabama, and the smell fills the walkways and even seeps into units, affecting residents’ comfort and health. Safety is another major concern. The front gate has never stayed functional for more than a couple of weeks and is usually left wide open, allowing anyone to enter. In previous years, nonresidents have come onto the property: one misfired a gun shooting himself, and another assaulted a resident after breaking into multiple apartments with a knife. Despite this, there are no security cameras and management has tried to downplay these incidents… thankfully residents had ring cameras to advocate for themselves. Even locking my own door wasn’t possible for months. My apartment key (and my roommates) didn’t work from August until recently, and management showed no urgency to fix it despite knowing I live on the first floor. The so-called security officer is rarely visible and the only thing he is recognized for is revving his engine late at night and not following the own guidelines he enforces.The emergency number connects to an AI that hangs up. Between the broken gates, ignored safety issues, and lack of real security, I do not feel safe living here. The “luxury” pool is also neglected. During the summer, the only time residents actually use it, it’s green, cloudy, and unsanitary. I have attached measurements of low chlorine and high pH truly showing how unsanitary and how much of a health risk it is. It’s clear the property doesn’t invest in proper maintenance or care for resident health. Management and staff are extremely unprofessional. Since the general manager left, there appears to be no supervision to hold the current assistant manager accountable. The assistant manager has repeatedly mishandled situations and treated residents with disrespect. When I was overcharged for rent far beyond what was written in my lease, he refused to look at the lease or get assistance. Another time, after a package went missing (in which I had proof of delivery and a photo of where it was at in the mailroom) , he sat on his phone and refused to help, saying, “I don’t work for you; I work for Scion” as well as “Residents think they are little know it all’s, when in reality, they don’t know a single thing.” It’s only gotten worse since his promotion. He’s violated resident confidentiality multiple times, once by revealing who filed a marijuana complaint and forcing us to “talk it out” with the residents involved, and another time by sharing my maintenance request with my information to those same individuals (Those residents showed me the exact screenshot they were given). The suspected residents later confronted my boyfriend and I outside my apartment keeping us from entering until we talked with them. This property is unsafe, unsanitary, and poorly managed. Complaints are ignored, residents are disrespected, and safety is not a priority. Do not rent here.

Lark in the Woods has got to be one of the worst places in Tuscaloosa. I have 2 roommates and pay around $850 a month yet my appliances are constantly breaking without actually being replaced, the wifi is out at least once a week, the a/c has been out for days, the gate has NEVER worked in the two years I've lived here, the people in the office don't seem to know anything, and so much more. Take pictures of EVERYTHING when you move in because management will try and say they don't have to fix something because you broke it. I can not recommend enough that students live elsewhere and I can not wait to leave this place at the end of the summer.

Everything said about the state of these apartments lines up with what I've been seeing this year. The pool is barely maintained, internet is awful and they've just switched providers from "WhiteSky" to "Latigo" and still the network is 🐌 at best and still not loading at worst. I'm stuck staring at 300Kbps-1Mbps on a ethernet connection right now.......

This has been the absolutely most disorganized and frustrating process that I have ever dealt with regarding a rental property. My daughter signed her housing agreement on January 30th. Less than a week later is when the emails started pouring in regarding payment and NOT RECEIVING proof of enrollment. My daughter uploaded her proof of enrollment an additional two times after. Nonetheless my daughter continued to get emails directly after from “Tristian Abrams, Assistant General Manager”. Friday, February 6th my daughter went back by the Lark and spoke with the same young man that we spoke to on day one and asked AGAIN about the proof of enrollment and to ensure the information had been received. He ensured they had received everything regarding her proof of enrollment and could not explain why my daughter was getting emails saying the information had not been received. After this my daughter started getting bombarded with emails. On Friday, February 20th my daughter came to the Lark in the Woods office and spoke directly to the young man in the office regarding the supposedly missing proof of enrollment. The young informed my daughter that the necessary documentation had been received and the only thing left was to pay the fee. I paid the fee the night of February 20th for 207$ and the opt out guarantor fee for July for 826$. I have receipts. My daughter and I logged in to her residential portal and it showed both had been paid and it also had TWO forms of her proof of enrollment uploaded IN HER RESIDENTIAL PORTAL. Even after this my daughter continued to repeatedly get emails saying the EXACT SAME THING. We logged in to her portal TWO DAYS later and another fee was added for 919$ (100$ more than our signed contract amount) for the fee that ALREADY HAD BEEN PAID. All of the emails being received from Tristian, who has been unable to be reached since day one and has not responded to emails. On February 27, I personally sent an email with my daughter attached, replying to Tristian in addition to forwarding the email. In the emails we attached additional forms of proof of enrollment and copies of receipt of payment for the 819$ fee (826$ with fees) and the 200$ fee (207$ with fees). I spoke with Aidan Browne via telephone (3/2/26) regarding the emails that my daughter kept receiving. He claimed as we were on the phone he was speaking to his boss and getting the clear to remove the fee of 919$ that should have not been on the account and ensured ONCE AGAIN that they had received the payments and proof of enrollment. He could not explain to me why my daughter continued to receive the bombarding of “FINAL NOTICE” emails. Even after this the fee remained on the account and my daughter CONTINUED to receive “Final notice” emails. On Tuesday, March 3rd around 11:56am I personally went into the office. I spoke Aidan Browne. I expressed the same concerns. He ensured that everything has been paid and nothing is owed until August. He informs me that no manager was available. Aidan stated that the manager was in Chicago at a meeting.He stated he contacted the manager and he informed me that the 919$ would be removed off the account. Aidan stated it was an “accounting error”. He was unable to explain to me why it was on there and at that amount, he just kept saying it was an unexplained accounting error that sees seriously suspicious.He stated there is no manager on site and that whoever the current manager is that he is dealing with on and off “military stuff “. Aidan ensured me that he had reached out to the manager and that his manager stated that when he gets to a computer he would take the 919$ off the account. Today is 3/13/26 and my daughter has received an “Agreement Cancellation in Three Days”. At this point I would like for the agreement to be cancelled. I feel as though this is a sign of what is to come with unreliable and unavailable management, staff that lacks knowledge and unable to correct issues in a timely and accurate manner and poor, lack thereof of communication.