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
Repair Issues/mold | Case#**-*829
Redfield,
South Dakota -
57469
Roof leaks in several Areas. Mold in several locations inside the house because of repairs not made. Sinks and tubs that won\'t drain properly. Cold water doesn\'t work in kitchen and hot water doesn\'t work in master bath or laundry area. Several windows that are broke and can\'t be used. Dish washer that leaks and doesn\'t run right. Garage that leaks and destroyed much of our personal property. Garage that if through wind blows too hard will blow over.
Tenant Terms And Requirements | Case#**-*989
Hagerstown,
Maryland -
21740
My rental lease and agreement is verbal. You only stated no partying no drugs. I dont and haven\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t done any of these things. Landlord has no legal business right to inform me to not to have visitors without his consent. He doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t live in house he just rents and oversees the house. He cannot threaten to put me out before my designated agreed time because I don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t tell him when I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m having visitors. I pay my rent for my privacy and personal life. Furthermore this house needs work and fire alarms. This needs to be addressed immediately. Again you he cannot dictate to tenants to inform him every time they have a visitor. I have good respectfully working friends and co workers
Deposit Problems | Case#**-*488
DORAL,
FL -
33122 1968
We rented a house to Andrew Bazze (landlord). He is an agent of this real estate company Strike Realty. He rents his own house under this company previously mentioned.
The house was rented from 02/08/2023 to 03/13/2023. for a price of $5000 plus a security deposit of $1000.
On 03/13/2023 we notify the landlord that the house was ready, clean and organize so he can go to inspected it and give us the deposit back.
He never replied to us, he never answered our calls or text messages.
After a week he just showed up with a text message saying he was going to keep the deposit with no valid reason, he was rude, aggressive, and threatening.
We have all the proof that can validate this.
He just wanted to keep our depositing with no valid arguments.
He is taking advantage of the company where he works to make contracts and rent his own house under the name of this agency and keep the deposits with no reason, it should be noted that the client already pays a very high amount for the rent.
Management Company Problems | Case#**-*354
PONTE VEDRA,
FL -
32081 6196
Lifestyles has a demonstrated pattern of not supporting maintenance repairs in a timely fashion, repairs have taken over 30+ to 90 days and have required me to miss work to meet with repair people in some cases several times for the same issue. Property Manager employee Alyssa once threatened to charge money to meet a maintenance person She has also stated that her office is too far from the property to meet at rental home or to inspect concerns. In addition, communicated via text that the owner would be selling the home did not make herself available to answer questions or provide any information or allow herself available for questions or follow up. Also, a lock box was placed on the home without advising or scheduling this in advance. Poor communcation and generally bad management with almost no regard to the tenant
Deposit Kept | Case#**-*657
houston,
Texas -
77084
I put an application with them, paid them 200 deposit, and 40 application fee, and was not told that if I had two or more broken leases I would automatically be denied and my deposit would be kept. I did tell them that I had more than one broken lease and they told me that they work with broken leases, and so I left the deposit, and when they said I was denied and I asked for my deposit back they told me it was non refundable. I did call and talk to several people, the assistant manager Monica, the leasing agent Daisy is the one that did not tell me about the policy of two or more would be automatic denial. I explained to the the assistant manager Monica the day I put the application in that I had the broken leases and she did not notify me either that it would be an automatic denial, and that the two hundred dollars would be non refundable.
I then asked them why they would not give me my deposit down and they told me that I had been informed that it was non refundable. I was not told that and they still refuse to give me my 200.00 back.
Deposit Not Returned/Never Moved Into Apartment | Case#**-*948
Broussard,
Louisiana -
70518
I put down $495 for the apartment to be held but I ended up not renting the apartment. I never signed a lease. I informed the manager that I would not be moving in a couple of days before I was supposed to move in. I tried to get my deposit back. They told me I would have to wait 30 days and have been giving me the run around ever since. I think that returning my deposit is the right thing to do since I never even moved into the apartment and I informed them in advance that I would not be moving into the apartment.
we have been asked either to move out or pay for bedbugs treatments. | Case#**-*939
Longview,
Texas -
75605
I asked them to give me the written notice regarding the reason for asking for move out and the manager is blaming us for bedbugs that we carried from previous apartments. We did not know that we have bedbugs at the apartments. They found
Breach of Agreement, Harassment, Foreclosure, would not put our rent towards mortgage, threatened us | Case#**-*563
Carson City,
Nevada -
89703
We moved into 1511 N. Nevada Street on November 13, 2010, in Carson City, Nevada. We saw the place while on our search for a new house, and it was within our price range, and the right size, so we called the number that was out front. The landlords, Tom and Megan Gast of Gast Management, let us into the place sight unseen for no deposit and $850 a month. We never met them in person, but it seemed like a slick deal. They told us the deposit number at Mutual of Omaha bank, and where the key was hidden. Once we signed the forms that were faxed, we were in. However, once we got in, the bullying began. They demanded that we pay the plumber for the sewage repairs, which is their legal responsibility, and whenever we complained about the shape of the house (mold, broken/cracked windows, etc.) they threatened eviction. We paid on time, every time, so the threats were unnecessary. They neglected to tell us why the power bills were so high, which was later revealed to be exposed wires that had been purposely stripped to heat the crawl space. This was also an extreme fire hazard. The central heating unit was also revealed to have corroded gas pipes, which could've very well led to an explosion. Within the crawl space, the bare frame was touching the ground, providing the potential for termites and dry rot. To pay for this dump, which we kept very clean and organized, we paid $850 a month. And yet we were getting foreclosure notices taped to our front door! It turns out that the Gasts were pocketing the money as opposed to paying the mortgage. We very nearly got thrown out on the street, so one can imagine the stress. After we finally decided it wasn't worth it anymore, about mid February of this year, we gave the Gasts 7 days notice of our leaving. Megan e-mailed Jessica, "Thanks for screwing me, Jessi." We moved every stick of furniture, cleaned everything out, and left a spotless house for the most part. Again, we never saw the Gasts in person through all of this. The last thing to move was the Jeep Wagoneer, which needed to be towed with a rope, as it was out of service for repairs. We couldn't get to it in time, however, and Jessica received and e-mail from Tom, saying, "Who's piece of crap Jeep is this? Get it out of here now, or we'll tow it." We raced down there as fast as we could, only to find an empty space. We could not afford to get it out of impound, and so the vintage Jeep worth $1,800 was turned into tin cans.
Ductowork Noise | Case#**-*296
DENVER,
CO -
80205 2171
It has been over 2 months since I have been asking to get my ductwork fixed. They have come 2-3 times and failed every time. And when they do come they leave a mess in my room. I\\\'ve asked so many times to fix it, and they continue to push back by saying other tenants wouldn\\\'t care and things like that. The pipe is flexing in my ceiling and making loud noises that are very bothersome to hear non stop. Not only did I have issues with this, but the amenities are not what I payed for. My HVAC is broken often. The pool lights have not worked in 4 months. The hot tub is dirty and often cold. The Walnut street Garage door is also broken (although I believe they just fixed the garage door). But I don\\\'t think it\\\'s fair to charge me so much money, especially when it\\\'s not what i expected. They will most likely say that they only see a couple maintenance requests. But that is because I have gone in and put them in in person. And they do not update them online when I do that. Taylor tried to tell me I only put in one request when that was just not true.
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.
