Rent Problems Are Frustrating; but you're not alone: Thousands of tenants rely on RPA to solve problems
Deposit Problems | Case#**-*468
Maricopa,
Arizona -
85138
I vacated the premises on 1/31/2020. The house was left in move-in condition (I have videos for proof). When i spoke with the manager (Pete Ashjian), he told me that the maintenance man had been inside the house and said there were no issues so he was sure that everything would be okay. Then Pete sent an invoice indicating several issues, none of which were valid. He stated that the house was filthy and there was a lot of junk left behind. Both of us had hired people to come out and haul junk away and the house was completely free of any junk except for a few large cans of paint and air filters that belonged to the landlord (refer to videos). Pete even sent us videos, taken by his agent, who indicated that the issues he found were not the responsibility of the tenants.I am filing this seeking a full refund of the $1300 deposit originally given to Ahwatukee Realty. They can keep the refundable $250 cleaning fee.
Harassment | Case#**-*793
AKRON,
OH -
44303 1005
During the first week Alyssa Zhelesnik and Amanda Kriak moved into the apartment at 34 Grand Avenue, the landlord, Marc Lessem harassed the tenants. He told their apartment upstairs neighbors that they were strippers, made them extremely uncomfortable, and did nothing when they confronted him. When the two confronted Marc regarding the incident (after the tenant harassed them about where they worked and what they did) he laughed and said he would tell the neighbor we were no longer strippers. It is important to note that neither Alyssa nor Amanda are in said field of work, and are highly offended by these accusations. He then told the tenants (Alyssa and Amanda) that the upstairs neighbor (Brian) heard everything they did and had cameras in their apartment. He continuously made remarks regarding Alyssa and Amanda\\\'s sex lives. He told the tenants that they were not allowed to have company over what so ever, and that the company was not ever allowed to use plumbing, such as the toilet. He then, harassed Alyssa about her boyfriend staying over. Alyssa\\\'s boyfriend never stayed over for more than 2 nights in a row. When he did stay over, it was because Alyssa was afraid to be there by herself, because of the remarks Marc had made to her neighbors. Marc charged Alyssa and Amanda $310 dollars for 5 months of Cory being there, none of which he could prove and 2 of the months, the boyfriend was not in Ohio. The landlord has abused his rights, and harassed the tenants to the point where they finally left the lease. Then, the security deposit came back and he, with no evidence, took half of the security deposit due to false claims of an extra tenant.
Deposit Problems | Case#**-*726 The apartments are trying to charge us over $400 to replace a carpet that they are accusing our pets of ruining apparently from pet urine,which is not possible because both bedrooms had gates blocking them while we lived there so the animals could not get into the carpeted areas for a reason. Also I am a stay at home mom with two kids hill my husband works 14 hour days in the military so i was home 24-7 and would know if they went to the bathroom which like i said before they couldn't because the bedrooms were gated off from them. We never had a problem while living there until now that we moved out and they are accusing us of theses damages that are not that bad to need to replace it and $400 from us. They are accusing us of lying about the problem which we know we are not and theres no way to prove that it was our animals and wans't there before we moved in because the majority of the stain is on the underside of the carpet and i highly doubt they uninstall their carpets every time someone moves out. They claimed the people before us didn't have pets but while we lived there a year there were people who had pets but didn't tell the office they had pets because they think the extra pet rent charge was too much.
Bedbug Service | Case#**-*771
TALLAHASSEE,
FL -
32304 1505
McCall assured us that we wouldn\'t have to pay for the bed bug service since they are 1303 Ocala\'s pest control company and 1303 is responsible for all costs however 1303 is holding us responsible for all costs although the lease includes pest control as one of their amenities.
REPAIR ISSUES/COMPLEX PROBLEMS | Case#**-*169
POMPANO BEACH,
FL -
33069 2512
THE STAIRS ARE WAYYYYY TO RUSTY I MEAN IF I\'M PAYING RENT WHICH IS OVERPRICED I EXPECT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO LOOK GREAT.THE PAINT ON THE BUILDINGS IS OLD AND IT LOOKS LIKE SECTION 8 BUILDINGS.IF I\'M GOING TO LIVE SOMEWHERE THAT LOOKS LIKE SECTION 8 THEN I WANT TO PAY SECTION 8 PRICE BUT THAT WONT HAPPEN,WOULD IT?NO!!!! SO SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THE RUSTY STAIRS AND THE COLOR OF THE BUILDINGS NEED TO LOOK MORE ELEGANT.BANYAN BAY PAINTED THEIR BUILDINGS AND IT LOOK LIKE A NEW COMPLEX NOW.WHEN MY LEASE IS UP I WILL BE HEADING TO BANYAN BAY IF THESE PROBLEMS ARENT FIXED AND I WILL BE TAKING TENANTS WITH ME BECAUSE I\'M GOING TO START A PETITION AND I\'M SURE THEY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING I\'M SAYING SO THEY WILL SIGN IT AND IF NOTHING IS DONE THEY WILL LEAVE AS WELL.EMPTY UNITS?THATS BAD FOR BUSINESS SO DO BETTER!!!!!!!!!ANOTHER THING THE TRASH AREA NEED A BIGGER DUMPSTER SO IT CAN HOLD TRASH FOR THE WHOLE COMPLEX.I\'M TIRED OF SEEING TRASH EVERYWHERE EVERY SINGLE DAY.WHY DO YOU THINK THERES RACCOONS? BECAUSE TRASH IS ALWAYS OUTSIDE OF THE DUMPSTER. OTHER THAN THESE PROBLEMS I DONT HAVE AN ISSUE WITH ISLAND CLUB. ANYTIME I GO IN THE OFFICE DAVID AND BLANCA ARE ALWAYS KIND BUT WAIT I DO HAVE ANOTHER PROBLEM THE OFFICE MANAGER ***TINA** SHE HORRIBLE AND IF YOU TALK TO HER ABOUT ANY PROBLEM IN THE APARTMENT SHE SAYS SHE WILL SEND SOMEONE BUT NOBODY EVER SHOWS UP HMMMMMM?SHE DOES NOT PUT IN THE WORK ORDER(I THINK SHES RACIST AND ALOT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS THAT LIVE OUT THERE FEELS THE SAME WAY,BUT IF YOU DONT PAY YOUR RENT I BET SHE WOULD HAVE YOU PUT OUT OF THE APARTMENT.THE SAME WAY THEIR EXPECTING THE RENT MONEY EACH MONTH IS THE SAME WAY I\'M EXPECTING THE APARTMENTS/APARTMENT COMPLEX/MAINT TO BE UP TO PAR SINCE I PAY MY RENT FAITHFULLY.WAIT!!THERES ONE MORE THING THEY KEEP GOING UP ON RENT BUT I STILL HAVE APPLIANCES IN MY APARTMENT FROM THE 1700\'S.NOTHING IN MY APARTMENT IS NEW SO I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE KEEP JACKING UP THE RENT.
IF NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT THIS THEN I WILL KEEP FILING COMPLAINTS EVEN WHEN I\'M GONE BECAUSE THIS ISNT FAIR TO THE RENTERS. WE WORK HARD FOR OUR MONEY SO THEREFORE WE WANT OUR MONEYS WORTH
Repair Issues. End of 7 day notice letter. | Case#**-*721
LOS ANGELES,
CA -
90064 3095
FRONT DOOR: Paneling around door has come undone due to faulty repairs. KITCHEN: Stove needs repair on the knobs. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD. Top utensil drawer comes of the railing. Needs to be replaced: the wood frame, not just the drawer. Microwave replacement was only of another corroded microwave. Either microwave should be removed, and the charge for that appliance removed from the rent, and the fix of where the microwave is installed, or replaced with a functional, NON HAZARDOUS, microwave. Kitchen light, and the lamp coverings, need to be replaced. Kitchen sink needs to be grouted. Kitchen sink has also has rust issues in both sides. Exhaust vent above stove has paint coming off exposing the material. Needs to be replaced, as painting over this appliance like last time, has impaired the use of proper ventilation. Cracks in sun window need to be patched and repainted. (Showing exposed metal, rust, and previous coats of paint.) PATIO: Screen door needs to be replaced. It should be remembered, the tracking in our apartment is off, and either the tracking on both the patio, and back bedroom, needs to be redone, or a more realistic screen door should be provided. LIVING ROOM: Cracks in the ceiling and on the wall need to be repaired and repainted. FRONT BATHROOM: Toilet has hard water issues, causing corrosion in the toilet. Needs to be replaced, or repaired. Toilet needs to be snaked. Front sink needs to be snaked. Grout in the front bathroom needs to be removed and grouted. Paint in the front bathroom looks as if the walls are bleeding. Not sure what hazard this is, but a semigloss coat would be nice. Please do not have handy man confuse the paints again. VENTILATION: Ducts need to be cleaned, air filters replaced in all rooms. Ducts are now exhausting black soot. HALLWAY LEADING TO BACK ROOM: The paneling to the air conditioner needs to be replaced with firmer, sturdier, coverings. Haphazard material that fails from the roof at night. BACK BATHROOM: Faucet in the back sink needs to be replaced its loose and falling apart. Shower doors and rail need to be fixed/replaced. Constantly falling off it's track
Toilet has hard water issues, causing corrosion in the toilet. Needs to be replaced, or repaired. Toilet needs to be snaked. Back sink needs to be snaked.Grout in the back bathroom needs to be removed and grouted. BACK BEDROOM: Water spots from the leak on the ceiling need to be repainted. Cracks near closet door needs to be patched and repainted.
Loud Neighbors | Case#**-*572
las vegas,
Nevada -
89129
Neighbors continuously make annoying noises even when asked to decrease. Neighbors refuse to listen and continue on with their actions.
Bed Bugs & Stolen Mail | Case#**-*747
DENVER,
CO -
80246 2218
Bed bugs. Submitted a maintenance request on 7/10/2020, and the problem still persists today. Apt complex said they would spray after 2 weeks of the 1st treatment but did not fulfill that promise. Bed bugs are still in the unit, and the apartment is actively avoiding all attempts at contact via phone and email.
No Help What So Ever | Case#**-*845
Arlington ,
Texas -
76006
everything falls apart in the apartment I have already told my apartment about it all they do is fix the already broken things and they brake again there\\\'s also trash everywhere watch they say they clean but dont. They supposed to have cameras that supposed to be enforced thats they i move here cuz i thought it was a safe place but they don\\\'t use them. I have told them ppl keep stealing stuff off my patio and the off duty cop does nothing about it. iv complained several times over the year about the parking there\\\'s never any parking spots because other people that don\\\'t live here park here and I had to park in handicap parking spot and in doing so my car got towed I could do nothing about it cuz there was no parking spots the front office always has an attitude everytime I call they have always hung up on me I went up there cuz I was trying to talk to a woman on the phone she had a major attitude with me yelled at me and then hung up which I went in the office Crying Cuz i have never in my time Living in a apt. Been treated the way I have with this apartment complexand it is so sad that they even called the police on me because I wouldnt stop crying and I wanted to talk to there supervisor which he was not here so they try to kick me out of the office and even the cops were on my side side about it but they couldnt do anything. also every door in my apartment is not on there right and if you\\\'re not careful the door will fall off which I have told them that several times but if it dont look broken they well do nothing i told them that i wanted out of my lease because i just cant take them anymore im not going to keep paying the money when they dont even try
Failure To Return Security Deposit. Credit Fraud | Case#**-*483
Las Vegas,
Nevada -
89119
vegas towers has a history of stealing and lying against it\'s tenants and ex tenants. we left for poor service bad attitude and work wasn\'t being done. they have lied on credit reports that funds were due without notifying us of additional cost. these funds are not due. they withheld our security deposit after professional thorough cleaning of apartment before we left.
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.
