Apartment Review for Roanoke Apartments - Denver, CO

I should have known when I looked at the unit the first time. It was filthy, so I had them add an addendum to the lease saying they'd have it professionally cleaned. The week prior to move in, I had to call the management a number of times and it wasn't until the night before I was scheduled to move in that they had it cleaned, and even then it was quick job that left filth remaining everywhere. But the building was old and charming, and I'd already singed the lease and had movers scheduled, so I went ahead. It wasn't until 5 pm on Friday, the day of the move, that I discovered the toilet didn't work. I called management all weekend, and never got as much as a call back. Saturday morning I awoke to a freezing apartment only to discover there was no heat. I learned from a neighbor that this was typical, even when there was snow on the ground. On Monday, day 3 of my occupancy, I scheduled a public health inspection. I was informed by the inspector that he already had cases pending in that building. The inspector confirmed that my toilet didn't work, and found other violations during his inspection. Hearing that I had scheduled an appointment, my neighbor asked to bring the inspector to his unit. There, the public health official documented even more severe violations of the warranty of habitability. That evening, I received a call from management - they were calling to inform me that they'd fixed the toilet, despite the fact that a public health inspector had just found that the toilet was not in working order. Seeing that I would not be easily taken advantage of, as most of their typical tenants must be, the management terminated my lease. Throughout my dealings with them, the management was consistently unprofessional - hanging up on me, cursing, lying outright, and mocking my requests for them to simply abide by their lawful duties as leasing agents. According to the lease, they had 60 days to refund my security deposit. Six days before the 60 day deadline, and only after I called to advise them of the approaching date, I received a letter. The letter included an itemized list of deductions that totaled $700, exceeding the $650 security deposit. These cited deductions were fabricated out of whole cloth, as I left the apartment cleaner than I found it, and had only resided there 10 days when the lease was terminated (10 long days in which I never did achieve functional, indoor plumbing). Further, the letter accompanying the itemized list advised that should I attempt to pursue legal action against them, that they would counter sue for an amount exceeding $10,000 - a threat that was baseless and intended only to discourage me from asserting my legal rights to seek justice. After the fact, it's become evident that these are standard business practices for the individuals who manage this apartment - their entire "business" entity is structured to exploit those who do not have the means to assert their rights against their landlord, and to insulate themselves from any recourse. I lost the $650 security deposit, the $600 in moving expenses, and about $400 worth of May's rent that I forefitted when I moved out after only 10 days, but I learned an invaluable lesson - thouroughtly research the company/individual from which you intend to lease. And, obviously, don't try to rent at the Roanoke. My apologies for the length of the review!