Rent Problems Are Frustrating; but you're not alone: Thousands of tenants rely on RPA to solve problems
I Was Given A Notice Asking Me To Renew My Lease. A Week Later Wont | Case#**-*724
LISLE,
IL -
60532 2991
This is personal due to an incident regarding the morning breakfast. The women was serving dogs and I complained. Then she refused to serve me. I asked the former Manager twice to intervene and she would not. The health department I called for the dogs and in addition to the dogs problem they operated a illegal kitchen. They are trying to throw me out. I pay my rent on time I have no other issues, I am a senior and they think because I a, older 69 they can take advantage of me
I need help to allow me to remain in my home
Deposit Problems | Case#**-*479
LONG BEACH,
CA -
90807 2751
I rented an apartment at the Bixby Garden apartments (4142 Elm Ave #203, Long Beach, CA 90807. I moved out on June 1, 2013. Before I left the apartment I asked the manager to conduct a walk through with me and he declined citing that he had a company and that the owner would call me. I never received a call from the owner. Instead, 2 weeks later I received a check with a partial refund of my deposit back. I was charged for 1 day of rent for June 1st, cleaning costs and carpet cleaning costs. Per the state of California, the tenant is not to be charged for cleaning cost unless it's to restore the unit. Also the tenant is not to be charged for carpet cleaning unless there is damage as it is considered normal wear and tear. Before I left the apartment I had the apartment professional cleaned and took pictures of the apartment along with pictures of the carpet. I also don't understand why i was charged for 1 day of rent. I have reached out to the owner via certified mail and phone to no avail. I am asking that the costs that I incurred (which are the management’s/owner's responsibility) be refunded to me.
Unsanitary living conditons | Case#**-*399
Cottonwood,
Alabama -
36320
Its a health hazard to live in a Mobile home that has mold and Mushrooms growing through the floor in the bath room Urine has seaped through the floor and the smell is horrible it is not only harmful to a person but also to an animal that wonders through the home and small children the problem has been addressed and nothing has been solved this landlord is very errogant and his answer is when I get time but time is crucial when u are dealing with these kind of conditions and also it being an Elderly person. My grandmother has lived in this mobile home since may 1st and when she moved in there were cock roaches mushrooms in the floor but at the time she had no other place to go and we thought the problem would of been fixed but it has not since then the landlord has taken trips and has worked on a Friends house near by instead of his own propertys it is an unliving condition that needs to be addressed.
Neglect of repairs, unlawful retention of security deposit. | Case#**-*362
San Diego,
California -
92107
The condo was in disrepair when we moved in. the faucet was leaking under the sink in the kitchen and neither of the bathroom faucets worked. The toilets were both broken and one of their water tanks was cracked. The condo smelled like kitty litter, and there was a soiled and stained carpet in one of the bathrooms. The walls were dirty, as was the fireplace and the floors. When we asked the landlord to address these issues in addition to a malfunctioning garbage disposal, a geriatric relative with only 1 arm showed up to do the plumbing. He indicated that the landlord was wanting to sell the condo and unwilling to put any money into repairs or maintenance of the unit.
During our residency we agreed to allow real estate agents to show the unit to prospective purchasers. We made every provision to accommodate everyone. After giving notice to vacate we were asked to show the condo to prospective tenants. We obliged by showing the condo to everyone who showed up (unannounced and in droves at times). The Dye's told us they were going to send us a gift certificate for our efforts.
Not only did we never see that gift certificate they kept mentioning (their idea) but they withheld a portion of our security deposit after we cleaned the rugs, scrubbed the walls and went out of our way for these ungrateful people.
Repair Issues | Case#**-*937
JACKSONVILLE,
FL -
32244 8426
1.My refrigerator has been out of service for 3 weeks. This is apart of an ongoing issue so the \"landlord\" placed an order for a replacement refrigerator that no one seems to know the status of where or what\'s going on with the replacement refrigerator. I created a service ticket for the existing refrigerator that has now been out 3 weeks. I have an disabled elderly parent that i take care of no one has called me with a status or an update. Its become a FT job of me reaching out to them. No resolution. I would like to be reimbursed for the food we\'ve thrown out, they\'ve me a 118 credit on my account but clearly i cannot take that to the grocery . I am at 450 in loss of food in a pandemic. My mom can\'t eat certain foods and certain foods have to be fresh etc.
2. I just renewed my lease and as an incentive they were going to install new floors. How it end up being a bill for me is where I got confused. Well, 3 of the bedrooms have carpet, my mother\'s bed is adjustable and I can\'t afford to pay anyone to move the furniture nor can I as a woman move heavy furniture on carpet. My rent has increased by $300, I suggested using the rent of course they freaked out but we need some assistance. Installing the floors is making their property better as i have been complaining about these floors for years so its actually not doing me a favor it should have been done. The carpet is dry-rotted and the wood floors are lifting.
3. Now the roof is leaking again in the same bedroom as before. The guy who did it before spray painted the ceiling after patching it up and left. No one replaced any shingles. 4 people came and could not find the leak and guess what we got our first rain and its leaking again. This is not how you treat a tenant who hasn\'t been late and agreed to pay the ridiculous amount of rent for the comfort and convenience of her mother.
Bed Bug/ Mold/cochroaches, Repairs Unfair Depost! | Case#**-*662 Hi i beileve i should get reimbursed for the items tated above do to the fact i moved in gave security deposit of 950 to only come in to old carpets which had cigg burnd and bugs.compinsation for loose of work do to mold effecting my health behaviors(headaches spontaniously) and bed bugshaving red dots going to work they always sent me home thinking an alergy chicken poks extr.theres alot more i still have same carpet in room till this day light kitchen never changed. and more
Repairs | Case#**-*323
Phoenix,
Arizona -
85032
All tenants have reported repairs (Units 1, 3, & 4), but none got a response on when the repairs will be done. I submitted requests multiple times and i still haven\\\'t heard back from them. They never answer their phones and don\\\'t want us to contact them by phone or email about repairs, they want us to submit online and when we do we do not get a response. I have reported 5 repair requests twice and the broken kitchen faucet and have not heard back. We just want our apartments to be worked on. They put locks on our outside water faucets and they expect us to keep our backyards clean. They also just sent out an email stating the bushes and weeds around our apartments have to be kept up by us. we don\\\'t have tools to do that, that was never in our lease.
1. pipe outside gate has been leaking for months and have reported it 4 times.
2. bathroom sink leaks when the hot water is turned on.
3. outlets are too old and can\\\'t hold a plug.
4. A/C has a hard time blowing cool air
5. kitchen sink - faucet is broken and cannot use, water comes out of the base of the faucet.
Illegal Eviction | Case#**-*945
Gilbert,
Arizona -
85233
I have contacted my landlord/ manager for the last 3 1/2 months she has only responded twice. last year I was approved for the ERA and the manager refused to give me the real land owners information and refused to accept the rental help for 4 months. finally she accepted help from AZCENDS still not providing information to me but to the azcends. SHe was well aware of my situation and understood she would recieve up to 15 months of rental assistance from this program as long as she kept in contact with the program representative. She has avoided all calls and refusues to provide me with an email. Also last year i had to file a restraining order on my ex of 13 years and she sided with him and refused to take him off the lease. Now she sent me a picture of a certified mail she claims she sent to me to raise the rent from 1450 to 1650 starting in april but wil still not respond to anything else when asked or attempted to contact. I have been here 6 years and now when I contact the azcends lady(which has been discriminatory against me since meeting with sandra last year) she says my landlord is not accepting the lease anymore and that we went to court...and she cant pay her the rent thats owed and that I have to contact my landord to get further detail> I honestly do not understand what is going on but it seems as though some fowl play is at hand. I looked up city records and couldnt find a filing for my address or landlord. to top it all off she raised my rent all of a sudden 3 years ago by 250 saying that the pool service would be included and the pool guy only showed up for 3 weeks. when I asked her she said he didnt want to service our house because he feared the dogs being out> We took care of the pool up until my ex left. I dont know everthing about pools and have no income due to covid and the pool went green. vector services showed up and I had to let them put fish in the water to prevent mosquitos. The roof is leaking into the garage and has been since september last year, and ruined 2 boxes of my childhood memories. I have notified my landlord 7 times without a response. The garbage disposal quite working last year n oct and when I contacted Sandra for 2 weeks she never responded so I fixed it myself, all I want is to live peacefully and I have 6 years here. Why cant she just except the rental assistance and fix the roof> I need help and have applied 4 times for leagal aid and I will continue to try and find help.
Repair Issue, Rent Money Missing | Case#**-*000
Houston,
Texas -
77051
the apartment has mold the ceiling is come down all the plug don\'t work the carpet is nasty the toilet bowl doesn\'t flush right and need to be replace the tub needs to be replace there is rusty in it,etc
Deposit Stolen | Case#**-*777
kansas city,
Mississippi -
64118
Everytime I have called the manager I get the run around stating they dont have it, and it was refunded to the owner of the house. I have called him and he has never received anything I have receipts and also live transcripts on my Ipod where they are blaming someone else. I signed the lease with them and gave them the money.
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 Resolve Rental Problems?
Once you file a complaint, the RPA will contact your landlord or property manager to mediate a prompt resolution. The RPA online mediation system provides an effective complaint resolution process that helps solve problems quickly. Complaints filed through the RPA are documented and help protect tenants' rights by providing a program that protects against landlord retaliation and unfair practices. Agreements reached through the RPA Apartment Complaint Center are legally binding and enforceable. When required the complaint can be used as evidence in court.
The RPA requires a $35 one-time processing fee to cover the cost associated with contacting the landlord, online mediation, paperwork, and public record filing. Prior to 2006 the RPA complaint program had no fee. However, due to abuse by tenants that were filing bogus complaints; the RPA found it necessary to charge of fee to eliminate fake complaints and to cover costs associated with complaint handling. If you are looking to report the problem only and not seeking a resolution, you can use our free Report Landlord option. (The report landlord option will only document the problem and will not provide any assistance in resolving disputes.)
Tip: On your complaint form you can request that management reimburse you for RPA filing fees.
How long does the process take?
The RPA is able to resolve complaints fairly quickly, unlike court or other legal options. Cases are normally assigned in the order received; however, you can upgrade your case to be rushed if you need your case escalated. (option available immediately after filing)For fastest processing try to submit your complaint before the next processing deadline. (Count down shown next to "File Complaint" button.) Once the mediation process begins, your landlord will have 3 business days to respond to the mailed notice. If a landlord email address is provided the RPA will send out both a written notice and email notice which can provide an immediate resolution. Many times cases are resolved immediately after receiving the RPA® notice, however depending on the complaint, it can take longer if both parties are unable to reach an agreement quickly.
Tip: To speed up the process... On the complaint form request reasonable and fair solutions.
Does the RPA Guarantee to Resolve Every Complaint?
Each complaint is guaranteed to be worked by the RPA complaint system. The RPA mediation system will work to resolve every complaint regardless of how big or small the complaint. However, the RPA can't guarantee the end results of any complaint. While we work to solve each complaint, the guarantee is limited to our processing of your complaint. All fees associated with the complaint are non-refundable dispute the outcome of the complaint. Each complaint is Guaranteed to be worked by our complaint system and will be documented against the landlord should they fail to cooperate.
Tip: To get positive resolutions to your complaint; try providing resolutions that are fair.
What Happens After I file a Complaint?
Upon filing your landlord / property manager complaint you will instantly receive a case number. Your complaint case number can be used to immediately access your complaint status page. The RPA will process your complaint and contact your landlord for an immediate resolution. On your status page you can view case status, upload files or images, respond to the complaint, update/ change resolutions, accept or close complaint. The RPA complaint center updates your case status in real time and provides you with tracking to see exactly what is happening with your complaint. Once the case is closed, the complaint will be attached to your landlords public record which is quickly indexed by all major search engines. (Your information is never made public)
Tip: Check your case status at least every 3 days. (Respond / update your case as required)
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.
Tip: Check your case status at least every 3 days. (Respond / update your case as required)
Who Can File a Complaint with the RPA?
Any renter located in the United States of America has the right to file a complaint with the RPA. The RPA does not accept complaints outside of the USA. In general, the RPA will accept every complaint regardless of how big or small the problem may be.
Tip: When possible, try resolving your problem with your landlord before filing a complaint.
