Killam Properties

Crooks.
Absolute crooks.
There will not be a more strongly disgusted review I will write. ever.
After moving out… they misplaced my roommates half of the last rent. So they withheld our security deposit, and expected money on top of that. We were immediately (7 days; received 14 days after) sent a letter demanding the money and threatening us with going to collections after 20 days.
An action which is not only illegal (they would have to go through a court claim process for the money first) but beyond that. it’s incredibly scummy and unscrupulous of them.
In the 6 days I had to respond (according to their empty threats)… the property manager Jeffrey Barss, would repeatedly not answer his phone. The receptionist at one point got upset with me because I was ‘calling too much’…
Now, a full month since the threat they made, not getting money… I am apparently one day from getting my cheque. because when I went to the office to collect myself (after excuses of December mail delivery being the issue) I was informed that this ‘big company’ that was the reason all this trouble was caused, had only one person whom had the authority to sign cheques. and they were on vacation.
For a ‘huge’ company, they operate like a criminal corporation that expects you to pay up front, and be on-​time with payments.
Problem is… when the shoe is on the other foot, they aren’t… and you have no recourse or way to hold them accountable.

My boyfriend and I rented with Killam in Dartmouth and halfway through our lease I was counting down the days until we could leave. Unfortunately, we stayed around for 13 months because it took awhile to find a decent new place to rent.
The supers/​resident managers were nice for the most part, and the office employees were also quite nice. However, noise complaints (and there were tons as sound travels — you can hear the person below you coughing, sneezing, etc) meant nothing, laundry facilities were terrible (we wasted tons of money because they never worked and near the end of our lease we started going to a laundry mat) and they never fixed them despite numerous complaints. Also, the apartment was not very updated for the cost of rent– some kitchen cabinets did not close/​open properly etc. We also had an issue with our windows (mold growing — we were told by the man they did send to look at it that there was no insulation around the windows). Also, our heat control was broken and went unfixed for around 6 months — it was like a sauna in the apartment until it was fixed, and many of the windows only stay open with a stick. The rent also went up on the anniversary date by a significant amount, and that was the last straw for us.
On the positive side, it was a good learning experience and we knew what questions to ask/​what to look for at our new place. We are very happy with our new place and it is not even comparable to Killam — the price is cheaper, 250 sq ft bigger, balcony, dishwasher, brand new flooring/​doors, amazing laundry facilities on site for half the price, and great location in Dartmouth.
My advice is to rent with local management companies as they care more about their tenants. However, the renting experience with Killam can be different for everyone as my brother has rented with them for a couple of years now and he has had very little issues and loves it (except for the laundry facilities). Just make sure you ask the right questions and really check out the apartment before signing the lease — and check comparables in the area to make sure you are
getting a good rental price.

Not our first time renting, but certainly our last with Killam. After nearly a year of cold, spiteful management, we’re buying our house in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Killam’s response? We can’t leave until a month after our lease ends, since we can’t ask to leave until after we change over to month-​to-​month. (Misquoting) «Nova Scotia law» and «our rules!» were their first excuses.
They are all nice to get you in, but then once signed up, you’re considered subhuman. They are unresponsive to broken items and inside repairs. And bad to the extreme for customer service.
Our advice — go with anyone except Killam.
There’s a reason they have such a bad reputation overall among the locals. We were stupid not to listen.

This is my first time living in a building operated by a property management company, but so far it’s been a good one. The application process went smoothly and was stress free, and I also like our building manager who is usually quick to respond to issues that arise. He’s easy to reach, knows us by name and lives in the building so you know he’s close by in a pinch.
We live in a brand new apartment, but that seems to be the exception among the properties that Killam’s Halifax branch manages. A bunch of them look pretty crummy. We were shown one particularly grungy place before finding ours. I’m interested to know what other Killam residents think about the company after living in the not-​as-​nice properties…