ProTenant Agency

We see posts and comments from a lot of tenants (especially those who are new to renting from the Wall Street-backed SFR scumlords or who have been lucky not to have need anything repaired) that attribute excessively delayed repairs or repairs not being made at all to incompetence by the landlord, the property management company, or their employees. One of the most important things you have to understand when renting from companies like AH4R, Darwin Homes, FirstKey, Invitation, MSR, Progress, Renters Warehouse and all of the others like them is that their failures are not accidental. The failure to make necessary repairs in a timely manner is not accidental or due to incompetence. They very intentionally built their systems with this as a part of it.

We cannot stress this enough. The way tenants are being victimized by these companies is not accidental and it is not due to incompetence. It is completely by design. Not making repairs that they are legally required to make is an integral part of the business model that these scumlords operate under. It is a crucial component of how they are able to make the profits and return on investment that Wall Street expects from them. They know that many tenants will get tired of contacting them. They know that when that happens some will either fix the problem themselves or pay to have someone fix it. Even worse, they know that some tenants will just live with the defective conditions while continuing to pay the full amount of ridiculously high rent each month.

Will class action lawsuits force these companies to change? Maybe but so far the evidence is not showing that. Several of the companies have settled class actions and the only people that really benefited were the plaintiff lawyers who brought the cases. We think a better way to impact the scumlord's bottom line is for as many tenants as possible to hold them accountable. What do you mean by holding them accountable? Whenever there is a problem that they are responsible for fixing, let them know. Call first. Then use the portal. Then send an email to your property manager. Then follow up with another email. Allow a reasonable amount of time for it to be fixed. In most states 2 weeks is considered reasonable (but depending on the nature of the problem, what is reasonable could be a few days). If they haven't made a good faith effort to START the repairs (and starting does not mean sending out vendor after vendor) take advantage of the remedies afforded to you by your state's landlord-tenant laws. Take them to small claims court. If it is a larger case and you can find a lawyer, bring an individual lawsuit. File a complaint with your state's real estate commission and with your state's AG office. In a lot of states, when a complaint is filed with a regulatory agency the company is required to file an answer. Sometimes they hire a law firm to do this. If not, it still costs them because this is time that their property managers can't devote to calling tenants about outstanding rent (which is the primary if not only job of their property managers). All of these things eat into their profitability. And if it is done enough, it will eventually make more economical sense for them to make repairs because the alternative will be just as costly.

You can find more information on effectively demanding repairs here

Need Your Landlord To Make Repairs? Tips To Get 'Er Done - ProTenant Agency Refusing or delaying repairs is a favorite tactic of Wall Street corporate single family residential (SFR) landlords like American Homes 4 Rent or Invitation Homes.

This post reminds us of our Tenant Wins (which we need to get back to doing!) Here's the thing that is really important. The Wall Street-backed SFR scumlords like AH4R, Darwin Homes, FirstKey, Invitation, MSR, Progress, and Renters Warehouse are intentionally delaying and postponing repairs or failing to make repairs altogether. This is not accidental. It is not because they, their employees, or their vendors are incompetent. It is by design. They know that many will get tired and either fix it themselves or pay to have someone fix it. Or, even worse, they know that many tenants will just live with way less than they are entitled to while paying the full amount of ridiculously high rent each month.

We cannot stress this enough. The way tenants are being victimized by these companies is not accidental and it is not due to incompetence. It is completely by design. Not making repairs that they are legally required to make is an integral part of the business model that these scumlords operate under. It is a crucial component of how they are able to make the profits and return on investment that Wall Street expects from them.

Will class action lawsuits force these companies to change? Maybe but so far the evidence is not showing that. Several of the companies have settled class actions and the only people to have really benefited or profited were the plaintiff lawyers who brought the cases. We think a better way to impact their bottom line is for as many tenants as possible to hold them accountable. Whenever there is a problem that they are responsible for fixing, let them know. Call first. Then use the portal. Then send an email to your property manager. Then follow up with another email. Allow a reasonable amount of time for it to be fixed. In most states 2 weeks is considered reasonable. If they haven't made a good faith effort to START the repairs (and starting does not mean sending out vendor after vendor) take advantage of the remedies afforded to you by your state's landlord-tenant laws. Take them to small claims court. If it is a larger case and you can find a lawyer, bring an individual lawsuit. File a complaint with your state's real estate commission and with your state's AG office. All of these things eat into their profitability. And if it is done enough, it will eventually make more economical sense for them to make repairs because the alternative will be just as costly.

Annie D. Ellison, Attorney At Law Congratulations on this settlement! Thank you for coming over from the dark side. We are so happy to have you on the side of helping tenants hold the scumlords accountable by fighting for their rights and for fair treatment.

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After submitting several requests for the landlord to fix something on the outside of the rental home and waiting for more than a year as the landlord sent out multiple vendors to give estimates but never fixed the problem, our client had enough and contacted us for help with ending the lease that had nearly a year remaining.

We demanded that the landlord agree to let our client terminate the lease early WITHOUT paying a lease break fee and agree to refund the security deposit in full. We also demanded that the landlord make a settlement payment to our client. We went three for three. Exactly seven days after we sent the demand letter to the landlord, we reached an agreement that included nearly everything our client wanted.

What's your current housing situation? If you are dealing with a landlord that refuses to meet its obligations, let's talk and explore your options.

The Wall Street corporate single family rental landlords are starting to do a lot of spending for lobbying lawmakers and politicians. Can’t see how this will be anything other than really bad for tenants.

We are beyond excited to finally see a law firm focused on tenants. We have consulted with Annie D. Ellison, Attorney At Law in the past and are looking forward to seeing her new tenant-centered law practice grow. If you have an issue that requires legal representation, we highly recommend her.

As a tenant, you have rights. We're here to help you understand and assert those rights, navigate legal complexities, and seek fair resolutions. If you are having landlord problems, contact us today.