tenants have rights, solving security deposit problems is your right...
Every day, tenants like you, turn to the RPA to quickly get deposits refunded & unfair charges dropped.Filing a Complaint with the RPA is the fastest and most effective way to get your deposit refunded and unfair deductions dropped. - even attorneys rely on the RPA to help solve dispute problems for their clients. As a tenant you have rights to fight for your every penny of your deposit. Yes, the RPA fight to get your deposit back.
What Security Deposit Problems Can the RPA solve?
Did you know... the RPA accepts all deposit complaints, but these are the most common complaints resolved by our organization:
Security Deposit Refunds
Getting your security deposit back promptly.
Charges to Security Deposit
Unfair, False, Unreasonable, or other types of deductions
TIP: On the complaint form you can request that your landlord reimburse you for the $35 complaint filing fee. (that's the only required fee to file a complaint)
Rent Problems Are Frustrating; but you're not alone: Thousands of tenants rely on RPA to solve problems
Bedbug Infestation In Multiple Units On 4th Floor | Case#**-*710
Washington,
District Of Columbia -
20018
I\\\'ve been advised by a pest control professional that it takes between 4 and 8 chemical exterminations to eradicate a bedbug infestation.
While a single heat treatment kills bedbugs, eggs, and larvae in a single application. As an elderly tenant I find multiple chemical treatments
not only invasive but also aggravating to my ongoing allergies. The fact that other units on my floor and possibly throughout the building
are infested with bedbugs makes this report necessary.
Final Account Statement | Case#**-*596
PROVO,
UT -
84601 5742
I moved out on the last day of the month amd they are charging for 12 extra days of rent. They are also charging me with damges that I did not do. They refused to do a walkout inspection with me. They refuse to let me dispute these charges. They have a new manager so the old manager is not present for me to question and dispite these charges. They have my forwading address and they sent this notice to my old address. I took 2 1/2 months for me to get it and now this account is bemg handled by a collection agency and they are about to report it to the credit agencies. The collection agencies refuse to let me dispute these charges.
Deposit Problems | Case#**-*094
TAMPA,
FL -
33613 4152
• My full name is Chaminda Lakmal Hettiarachchi. I came to USA on July 29 th 2006 as a F-1 student. I moved to Tampa, Florida in December, 2010. Current I study at University of South Florida.
· I moved in to Fairway Oaks apartment (14251, Les Palms Cir, Apt 101), Tampa on January 06th, 2017 with my family (3 kids and my wife). I applied as the primary resident.
· I’m a student at USF. I made a deposit of $1180. Since I moved in on 6 th, I paid $760 for January. I signed a lease for 7 months. It was a 2- bed room apartment.
· I work as a Teaching Associate at USF. Since my income was not enough to get qualified, I applied with my friend (Mahesh Hordagoda) considering him as a co-applicant. He did not move in with me.
· I did not include my kid’s names in the application.
· On January 12th, 2017 Mr. Alastair (representative from the leasing office) called me and asked me whether I live with children. I replied “yes”. Then he asked me to come to the leasing office and see the property manager, Ms. Christa King on the next day at 2 pm.
· As scheduled I met Ms. King at 2 pm on the 13th of January. During the conversation, I was informed that I was in violation of the fire code. I was asked to vacate the apartment within 2 months. However, I was not given any information about the code I was in violation of or how.
· On January 17th 2017, I called the leasing office and informed them that I am prepared to move out on the next day. I requested a copy of the lease agreement and was told that it could not be provided because the office printer was out-of-order.
· As promised I moved out on January 18th 2017. I signed the “confirmation of Vacating premises” and “Move-in/move-out condition form” indicating my mail forwarding address. I requested a copy of the lease once more and was again told that the printer is not working and that I should come on a different day to pick it up.
· After several failed attempts at obtaining a copy of the lease agreement during the course of the next few days, on January 26th 2017 I arrived at the leasing office first time alone then with the co-applicant. These two times also my requests for a copy of the lease were refused. The reason that I was given was that it was against Fairway Oaks policy to give a copy of the lease to the tenant. However, we were promised that a copy will be mailed “as a courtesy”. When asked how soon it would be mailed I was told by the leasing representative that he does not ‘handle it’ and therefore cannot give any more information.
· Unsatisfied with the conduct of the leasing representative I contacted the leasing office through an attorney (Ms. Lynn Hansaw) and requested a copy of the lease.
· On January 28th, 2017 I received the following documents by mail:
o Notice of Intention to impose claim on security deposit (1 page).
o Final account statement (1 page).
o Utility consumption statement (1 page).
o Lease agreement (4 pages).
· On February 24 th, 2017 I received revised final account statement. My refund from my security deposit is $28.39
I have objections to the revised final account statement.
1. The management has charged me $823.22 for lease termination fee. I was planning to stay there until the lease term ends but the management asked me to move out. Therefore, I think I’m not responsible for this fee.
2. The management has charged $400 for bed bugs. I was there only for 12 days. I have been in living in Tampa for more than 6 years and in some apartments, I lived more than 2 years. None of those apartments charged me for bed bugs after moving out. I don’t have bed bugs in my current apartment as well. Therefore, I can’t accept this charge and I refuse it.
3. The management asked me to move out. After moving out they have charged me $250 Administration fee which is not fair. I refuse this fee too.
Repair Issue | Case#**-*384
Booky,
New York -
11234
I\\\\\\\'m Angelica and they locked my box. My lights go out and I have kid\\\\\\\'s.
Repair Problems/Rent Charges | Case#**-*798
VALENCIA,
CA -
91355 1312
Alan sent us an email stating that he would not be renewing our lease for another year..we were already paid up for July and ending up moving out early because we were being harrased by Alan. I had to contact the Health Department regarding carpeting that was old and they would not replace it (there were exposed nails that my young kids had stepped on)
Breach Of Contract/ Disturbance From Neighbors | Case#**-*487
Las Vegas ,
Nevada -
89101
Tenant downstairs keep hitting the ceiling throwing things against the wall and making weird noises inside unit to disturb my sleep . This is a continuous problem she does this every night I am pregnant I work early in the morning and I\\\\\\\'m tired of it management is doing nothing about the problem .
False Representation/fraud | Case#**-*328
LONG BEACH,
CA -
90803 2824
Brenda advertised an apartment for rent. After viewing, I was asked to complete a credit application for $30. I specifically asked if it was available before I pay the application fee. She confirmed it was available so I submitted the credit application and check for $30. She later called to approve my application and offer the apartment and ask for 1st month and deposit checks to be dropped off. I told her I would give my 30 days move out notice with my current landlord and bring the payments. I gave my 30 days notice and then called her to drop off the payments. She said the unit I looked at was no longer available but there was another identical unit available EXACTLY the same. I asked to see the unit and sure avoided by saying no one was around to show it and she assured me it was perfect. So, I went to the building and looked in the window of the unit she was offering and clearly observed that it was completely different from the unit she advertised, with the most obvious difference being bad tile work as observed to hardwood floors. She then said the rent was non-negotiable and the lease was actually the credit application that I signed. I was conned into renting this sub-par apartment and left hung out to dry after giving my 30 days notice by believing she was an honest and ethical landlord.
Icy Parking Lot And Sidewalks | Case#**-*826
BURIEN,
WA -
98148 2761
On Jan 2, 2017 at 12:35am I was walking to my apartment at 331 S. 177th Pl. I slipped and fell on the icy sidewalk because after a snowfall on New Years Eve. This incident caused me to go to emergency because of this fall. When I paid my rent for the month I sddressed this situation to the manager with no response nor action to take care of these icy, slippery conditions. And the area is still laden with slippery ice. This should not be because the rent on this property is expensive and we should not be afraid to leave our apartments because that\'s sidewalks are slippery. I asked maintainence about this and he just apologized for my fall. This area is still not safe and as I stated to management that it needs to be addressed immediately because there are lots of school children on this property. I am fortunate not to have hit my head, but I am injured.
Breach Of Rental Lease | Case#**-*285
Statesboro,
Georgia -
30458
Original leases was signed on 1/26/2014 and renewed year thereafter as stipulated in the lease. March 24, 2017 the tenant (Octavia Freeman) received a letter stating an increases in rent from 485.00 monthly to 650.00 monthly effective July 1, 2017. Property manager and landlord are trying to unlawfully increase rent amount, which is not included in the lease agreement. I, Octavia Freeman, then mailed the owner and property manager with a breach of contract letter.
Deposit Not Transferred | Case#**-*720
Kalispell,
Montana -
59901
Montana Property Management; i.e., Shane Haley has been fired by property owner, Kiel Carreau ( contact phone number: 530-307-8124) as manager of his property located 180 Empire Loop, Kalispell Montana in April/May 2020 and has failed to transfer deposits, keys, and necessary information over to the new property manager, Summer Quist of Quist Property Management, even after many attempts on our part to contact Mr. Haley on the matter. Although they have separate businesses, Shane and Summer are brother and sister.
As a tenant of this property, I cannot properly complete my new rental contract or move out until this matter is resolved. The amount total is a security deposit of $850.00 plus last month\'s rent of $850.00 ... $1,700.00, as well as the $35.00 fee to file this complaint totaling $1,735.00
Deposit Dispute Complaint Process in 3 Simple Steps:
File Apartment Complaint: Fill out complaint form with your proposed resolution. Instantly recieve your case number.
Check Status: See the current status, respond, upload files or images, accept fair solution or purpose alternative solutions.
Landlord Public Record: Positive or Negative record is attached to landlord based upon their responses. Your (tenant) information is not made public.
Complaints Tips:
Uploading pictures / files is helpful
Try to request fair solutions
Focus on major issue, not on many
Check your status every 3 days
Avoid accusations or hostile tones
Be willing to accept alternate solution
How Does the RPA Help Me Get My Deposit Back?
As a tenant you have the right to get every penny of your deposit back. When you file a complaint through the Rental Protection Agency this starts a formal dispute resolution process in which the RPA will do everything in our power to see that your landlord promptly resolves your complaint. Landlords know that if they fail to cooperate with the RPA it can result in a negative public record that can make it hard for them to fill vacancies in the future.
Why is there a Filing Fee of $35
The $35 filing fee is the only required fee to process a complaint. The fee is required to help offset the cost of representing your complaint. The RPA complaint center is designed as a low cost legal solution for tenants and in most cases is more affordable than other legal options. Many tenants will compare the cost of filing a complaint to the cost of not filing a complaint. If you file a complaint and the problem is resolved will the solution be worth the cost of filing the complaint?
TIP: Don't forget, on the complaint form you can request that your landlord reimburse you for filing fee.
Most tenants file a complaint with the RPA to solve the problem such as getting a deposit refunded, or to get an unfair charge or deduction removed. However, some tenants file a complaint to report the landlord publicly as a warning to other tenants. When a complaint is filed against a landlord it will show up on their public record which is indexed by all major search engines. Filing a complaint is one way for tenants to stand up against bad landlords to warn future tenants about deposit problems they've had.
Does the RPA Guarantee to Solve My Deposit Refund Complaint?
We do guarantee to do everything in our power to solve each complaint that is filed. However, there are some situations where bad landlords fail to cooperate. The RPA can't force a landlord to comply if they refuse; but we can impact their public record which can make it difficult for them to find new tenants. We guarantee to represent the complaint and to create a public record against landlords that fail to resolve complaints.
Will My Name Show up Publicly?
No. After the complaint is closed and made public; your information (tenant name) is removed. During the complaint process your complaint can only be accessed through your case number and pin number. Both the landlord and tenant are assigned a pin number that is unique. The RPA protects tenant's privacy by blocking your name from the public record database. However, the record does show the landlord name.
Protection Against Landlord Retaliation
Its unlawful for your landlord to retaliate against you because you filed a complaint. Your landlord cannot evict, harass, limit access, raise rent, or treat you unfairly because you filed a complaint. As a tenant, you must still pay rent and comply with rent terms stated within your contract. Filing a complaint does not eliminate your responsibilities.
All 50 States have regulations that protect security deposits. In most cases the landlord is required to provide a refund within 30 days and must provide proof cost associated with charges or deductions against your deposit. Many states require the landlord to furnish copies of receipts for work completed. If you have a deposit refund dispute or feel your landlord is being unfair with your security deposit; you have rights. Filing a complaint is one of those rights.
