LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday announced a $48 million settlement with Invitation Homes, the largest landlord of single-family homes in the United States, for an "array of unlawful actions against consumers."
Invitation Homes, which has around 2,500 properties in the Denver metro, agreed to pay $48 million to refund customers "harmed by its actions," according to a release from the FTC. Those actions include "deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out."
The settlement also requires Invitation Homes to "clearly disclose its leasing prices, establish policies and procedures to handle security deposit refunds fairly, and stop other unlawful behavior."
“Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home landlord, preyed on tenants through a variety of unfair and deceptive tactics, from saddling people with hidden fees and unjustly withholding security deposits to misleading people about eviction policies during the pandemic and even pursuing eviction proceedings after people had moved out,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a statement. “No American should pay more for rent or be kicked out of their home because of illegal tactics by corporate landlords. The FTC will continue to use all our tools to protect renters from unlawful business practices.”
One family who fell for a high-tech scheme last year that cost them thousands of dollars and a place to live hopes they qualify for some of that relief money.
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Last August, the Rumple family thought they had found the perfect home on a corner lot in Aurora.
“We had just moved out here from Vegas, and just wanted to get a great home," said Phillip Rumple.
The family discovered the home on Craigslist, and the man listing the property claimed to be a landlord through Invitation Homes.
“They seemed like a legitimate company. They had a great website presence... it was just a great experience altogether," explained Rumple.
Rumple paid $5,700 to move in, sending multiple payments through PayPal. Life was good until another woman with a nearly identical lease for the same home showed up.
“And then we get people showing up at the door saying that they just rented the place, they just put down payments," said Rumple.
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It's unclear if the Rumple family's situation qualifies for reimbursement under the terms of the settlement since the family paid an individual directly.
“I can't be sure about any individual situation, and our attorneys would have to look at it, but this company, through a lot of different ways, they exploited their customers," said Douglas Farrar with the FTC.
While a $48 million fine is only a drop in the bucket for Invitation Homes, which is worth nearly $22 billion, Rumple said it's a start to better business practices.
“But they need to take more ownership for the problems that they have," he said.
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