Easy Living SpacesReviews of easylivingspaces.com

I want to share my firsthand experience renting from Easy Living Spaces LLC at 1600 Broadway, Manhattan, and warn others, especially international students, interns, and young professionals, about serious concerns involving illegal apartment conversions, overcrowding, unsafe living conditions, and questionable rental practices. I rented a room in Apartment 11C, which was advertised as a legitimate five-bedroom apartment. I had no idea that it was actually a two-bedroom residential condominium illegally subdivided into five bedrooms, later reduced to four. The NYC authorities subsequently documented violations for BOTH ILLEGAL CONVERSION AND ILLEGAL OCCUPANCY. This is not speculation. The violations are part of the City’s official records. At times, approximately six or seven people occupied or moved through this apartment, with unrelated individuals renting separate rooms. These residential condominium units were never intended to operate as unauthorized rooming houses or hotel-style accommodations. How These Apartments Are Marketed Easy Living Spaces advertises individual rooms on platforms such as SpareRoom and other rental websites. Prospective tenants are often shown clean, presentable apartments, giving the impression that everything is legitimate. Many renters are young international students, including students from Scandinavian countries, interns, and other foreigners unfamiliar with NYC housing regulations. They may have no idea they are renting rooms in illegally converted apartments. I certainly didn’t. After moving in, however, the reality can be very different. Overcrowding, Mold, Poor Hygiene, and Security Concerns My experience included persistent foul odors, mold contamination, poor ventilation, inadequate natural light, excessive noise, and extremely poor hygiene in shared areas. With so many unrelated occupants sharing the kitchen, the refrigerator frequently became overcrowded and unhygienic. I eventually had to purchase my own refrigerator just to store my food separately. Cleaning was inconsistent, and the furniture had been used repeatedly by rotating occupants. The makeshift bedroom partitions provided inadequate privacy and security. Occupants were instructed not to lock the apartment’s main entrance, allowing management personnel and others to enter and leave. I experienced ongoing concerns about the safety of my belongings and personal privacy. These conditions were particularly concerning for someone living alone, especially women and young people unfamiliar with the city. What Happened When the City Intervened After I reported the illegal conversion, the City took enforcement action. On July 21, 2026, the partitions forming my rented bedroom were demolished while I was away, without prior notice of the specific date or time. I returned to find my bedroom dismantled, my belongings displaced, and my living area covered with construction dust and debris. Furniture, exposed nails, metal objects, and other materials were left near the area where I was forced to sleep.I was left without a private bedroom or suitable alternative sleeping accommodations. Valuable personal belongings also went missing during this period. I cannot establish who was responsible, but the lack of security and the displacement of my possessions were deeply concerning. The remaining occupants moved out several days later, but the other bedrooms were locked rather than being made available as alternative accommodations. I continued living in extremely difficult conditions after the demolition. Concerns About Similar Operations in Other Buildings My concerns extend beyond Apartment 11C. Based on conversations with other renters and properties I have personally visited, I believe similar room-rental arrangements have been operated by Easy Living Spaces and other associated rental entities in multiple buildings. I have encountered references to Aloja and other LLCs operating similar rental arrangements. Their precise corporate relationships and responsibility for individual properties deserve investigation. I am also aware of room-rental operations associated with a building near West 34th Street, although I would need to verify the exact address. I believe this may represent a broader business practice involving residential apartments being subdivided and commercially rented room by room, rather than an isolated incident. The use of multiple business entities can also make it difficult for tenants to determine who is actually responsible for their accommodations.

After of living with them, I can say my time with Easy Living was not easy. They created unsafe and uncomfortable conditions for my whole lease. When I first moved in I had to pay a cleaning fee for my room, only to find out my room wasn’t cleaned. There were pimple patches left over from the previous tenet on the dresser, the mirror was dirty, the walls were dusty and the room was not swept. The cleaners had to be sent back to my room to solve the issue since it wasn’t dealt with the first time. Then Easy Living tried to charge me for the cleaning fee again. Over the time of my lease, Easy Living violated the terms of my lease and NYS law. I had issues with my room reaching over 80 degrees and with no window in my room, it was becoming uncomfortable and hazardous. I reached out to the Operations Manager about this and I was told that it was because I had my thermostat set to 66 degrees (which it was set at when I moved in). NYS heating and cooling laws state that I can have my room at 62 degrees at night and 68 in the day. I had to set my thermostat at 70 degrees, but my room was reaching 80 still. Instead of sending maintenance (which I pay a maintenance fee for every month) I was provided a fan but that was after more than a day. It still didn’t help. It was only after my other roommates complained that the cooling system in the apartment was broken, my maintenance request was finally taken seriously, after days of my room being over 80 degrees. This happened a few times, with requests for my room not being handled. I asked for new adhesive for the breaker box in my room since it was swinging open. This request went unresolved for weeks. The operations manager asked if it was taken care of and I said no, and it still wasn’t taken care of. I had to cancel the request since it wasn’t handled. Communication with maintenance requests was unacceptable. There were things wrong with things like the fridge, and the internet in the apartment. When I submitted requests for these, there was little to no communication on updates regarding the situation. We have mold in the shared bathroom. I sent pictures to Easy Living upon moving in, and one of my roommates submitted a maintenance request about it, Mark (one of the heads of Easy Living) was alerted about it during an inspection, but the company didn’t address it. In all the monthly inspections they didn’t fix the mold problem, the broken backsplash in the kitchen, or the broken closet doorknob. The management company did not provide 24-hour notice for monthly inspections, monthly cleanings, or showings multiple if not all the times I have been here. Once the broker just showed up to the apartment asking to show my room when we got no notice. The broker turned out to be in the wrong apartment. I brought this up to management and no one responded to me. We were asked to leave our doors unlocked for tours (don’t they have keys?) Very disappointing how it was handled. At one point I had to leave my apartment for the day because I felt unsafe, there were people who did not live in the apartment opening the door to my room without knocking. Sometimes they would send emails about visitation with the wrong dates listed. My lease also says that when they do the monthly inspections they would not enter bedrooms but this is not the case. We even had to leave our bedroom doors unlocked with this happened. Mark, would just enter the apartment without any notice. Sometimes late at night. One time we were told he would be around the building from 12-4, but he came into our apartment around 7 at night to place a piece of paper by each of our doors. He also came in unannounced to put up a cleaning schedule. We were not given a 24 hour notice of the water being turned off for the building. The only thing easy about Easy Living was that it was easy to not feel at home in the space. The company asked me if I was interested in extending my lease after they had already showed the room, which was a pretty poor business tactic. We were suddenly charged convenience fees for paying rent, without any notice. I ended up leaving before my lease ended since I had such a poor experience. Management doesn’t respond to emails, I had to ask Mark multiple times for move out instructions. This place is a red flag - stay away. Especially since a 311 agent told me that my room was illegal. Shame on Easy Living and the broker for profiting from an illegal room.