Anyone living at UC Berkeley University Village?
Hi there,
I wonder if someone out there has lived in the Berkeley University Village? My son suffers from a lot of allergies and I read online that these apartments have mold? Is that right? I really need housing in the area, but I do not want that we get sick either.
Thank you for your advice.
May 19, 2019
Parent Replies
I think you heard about the old University Village housing, which had buildings from the WW2 era, and had numerous problems. All of those buildings were torn down and replaced with new buildings in the early 2000's.
I live in the village! I've lived there for 2 years now. I have never had mold. The village is really great about responding to any issue that you have - so if you do find mold (and mention that your son has allergies), they will respond to you immediately and move you, if necessary. They are really great about making sure issues like that are taken care of. I was very weary about living in the village, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You get so much room for your money!
East Village and West Village were built at different times, so my answer might only apply to my section (East Village). We do have some mold issues in the bathrooms (it will grow if we completely ignore it), but I find it pretty easy to deal with as long as I keep a dehumidifier in there and make sure to turn on the fan during showers. Frankly, I've had minor mold problems in *every* apartment I've lived in in the Bay Area--I find this impossible to avoid during the long rainy season. I think Californian winters are the problem, not UC Village. If you clean diligently and keep a dehumidifier on, you should be fine.
If you are able to get into UC Village (the wait list is long, but much shorter if you have a child), I'd highly recommend it.
I lived in UC Village for three years, and we had a lot of mold in the bedroom and in the hall closet. I think the way the apartments are laid out makes for poor air circulation. I got a dehumidifier, and that did the job. I didn't feel comfortable leaving windows open on the first floor, but if you live on a higher floor I'm sure that would help. If you can get a place in UC Village, I would definitely go for it.
The apartments are a good deal, and it is a nice community, but mold is a significant problem. The plus is that it is very well-designed for children. It may be in a drier year, there would be less of a problem. The maintenance workers are good about coming over.