r/UPenn • u/Prudent_Cost9029 • 1d ago
Housing PSA for Penn students: The Mark Philadelphia gave me false move-in information before I signed — now they refuse to release me from the lease
I’m a Penn graduate student currently dealing with an ongoing lease dispute with The Mark Philadelphia / Landmark Properties, and I really wish someone had warned me before I signed.
There are three things about this experience that have been especially troubling.
First, I was given an incorrect application deadline before signing.
A leasing employee told me that I had to complete my application by October 9, or I would not be able to move in until January 2027.
I had originally planned to wait until November before applying. Because of what I was told, I signed the lease on October 8.
A leasing staff member later acknowledged that the October 9 information was incorrect.
What makes this even more confusing is that on October 14, only five days after that supposed deadline, The Mark’s own website was still advertising:
“Immediate Move-In Specials Available | Please Call For Pricing.”
I saved a screenshot of that page.
Second, I was given a very different picture of room availability before signing than what I was told afterward.
Before I signed, I repeatedly asked about vacant apartments because I strongly preferred a unit with no existing occupants. I specifically discussed Unit 300-A.
I was told that there were many vacant rooms, that I should be able to receive my preferred placement, and that a preference note had been added to my account.
I even tried to speak directly with the property manager before signing, but leasing staff told me that I could communicate through them.
After I signed, I was assigned to Unit 600-D, where three other residents had already been placed.
Only after I insisted on speaking directly with the property manager was I told that management does not place new residents into completely vacant apartments and instead places them into partially occupied units.
That supposed internal placement practice had never been disclosed to me before signing, despite my repeated conversations about vacant apartments.
To be clear, I understand that the written lease gives management discretion over the final bedroom assignment. My complaint is not simply that I didn’t get Unit 300-A.
My concern is that the information I received before signing materially affected both my decision to sign and the timing of that decision.
Third, there is a separate disability-related accommodation issue that management has not substantively addressed.
I have a significant reaction to remaining for extended periods in enclosed spaces where the windows cannot be opened. I can experience severe anxiety, a strong trapped feeling, shortness of breath, nausea, and a strong need to leave the space.
I later learned that the residential windows at The Mark are non-operable.
I raised this issue in writing with both The Mark and Landmark corporate and asked about a reasonable accommodation.
The Mark did not respond to that issue, and Landmark corporate’s responses did not substantively address it.
Because the residential windows throughout the property appear to be non-operable, simply moving me to another bedroom may not solve the problem.
I have asked Landmark/The Mark for a mutual release from the lease without the six-month no-cause termination penalty.
Their responses have largely focused on the fact that the written contract does not guarantee a particular bedroom and that the contract remains enforceable.
But they still have not substantively explained the October 9 information, why the actual placement practice was not disclosed before signing, or addressed my accommodation concerns.
The whole experience has left me with the impression that a lot of effort went into getting me to sign, but once the lease was signed, every concern became essentially: “You signed the contract.”
I have not moved in, picked up keys, or taken possession. The dispute is still ongoing.
I’m sharing this because I want other Penn students to be careful:
If a leasing office tells you something that affects whether or when you sign, GET IT IN WRITING.
And if anyone at Penn has had a similar experience with The Mark Philadelphia or another Landmark property — especially involving pre-signing information, room placement, lease release, or a reasonable-accommodation request that was not addressed — I would really like to hear about it.
