Some students living in campus housing at Cal State LA are reportedly experiencing inconsistent hot water, with some units unable to maintain a steady flow. The issue has allegedly persisted for weeks, leaving residents seeking solutions.
The problem appears widespread, with South Village units facing frequent hot water inconsistencies throughout the fall semester. Additionally, some of the on-campus hotel-style rooms have also experienced similar issues.
The University Times contacted Housing Director Luis Roldan last week, Feb 5, for information on possible hot water outages affecting some apartments. Questions in the email included the number of affected units, timeline of possible ongoing or completed repairs, and any other specific information related to the issues.
The request was forwarded to Public Affairs, but there was no initial response. After reaching out a second time this week, Feb. 10, a response was finally received.
Executive Director of Strategic Communications Erik Hollins told the University Times that service requests are typically resolved within two days.
“Housing’s process depends on if there is a scheduled or unscheduled outage. For scheduled outages, residents receive a notification and accommodation if required. Typically, outages are scheduled at early morning hours. For example, there was a recent water shutoff related to the heat exchanger project that was scheduled between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.,” Hollins said, adding that for unscheduled outages, residents are provided immediate accommodations.
“Interruption may only last a few hours if a repair is able to be made,” Hollins said. “Time to restore service is within 2 days at the latest in the case where replacement of major equipment, like a new water heater, is required.”
Some residents in on-campus student apartments claimed that they are experiencing inconsistent hot water and claimed they have not received prompt responses from maintenance.
Ryan West, a senior, said he is “fed up” with the apparent lack of action taken to fix the hot water outage in housing. Ryan has experienced no working hot water since Dec 2024.
“It lasted about a week, this was the week of Christmas,” West said. “I pay to live here and there are expectations that go along with renting, one of which being hot water.”
West also expressed concerns about the long response times in regard to maintenance, claiming it can sometimes take days before issues are resolved. He said he hopes to receive some form of compensation for the inconvenience.
Jacob Rangeo, a student who has lived in the South Village apartments on campus since the previous fall semester, shared his experience with fluctuating water temperatures.
“The water just doesn’t get very hot, and if it does, it’s only sometimes,” Rangeo said.
For more than a month, Rangeo said he noticed the water temperature is unreliable, making it difficult to enjoy a comfortable shower. While he said he wasn’t looking for scalding water, he emphasized his need for warmth, especially in the colder season.
“I want to step out of the shower and feel warm, not cold,” Jacob said.
He noted that while the issue was more prominent last semester, submitting a work order typically led to a resolution in issues.
Students said they hope the university will take swift action to ensure reliable access to hot water in all on-campus housing apartment units. For now, some residents rely on maintenance requests as their only means of addressing the problem.
This article was first published in the February 13 print edition of the University Times.
