ATLANTA — The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has reached a settlement with the country’s largest landlord of single-family homes – Invitation Homes.
The company has rental homes across the metro and has been the subject of several Channel 2 Action News investigations.
The FTC said it reached an agreement with the company for $48 million for “deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out.”
The money will be used to refund customers harmed by the company’s actions.
One of those customers is Brandon Womack. He had to live without air conditioning for several months over the hot summer. He said he called the management company to take care of the issue.
“For two months, it was ‘it’s fixed, it’s good to go.’ Then they would leave, and within 24 hours, we were calling them out again,” Womack said.
Instead of relief, the family dealt with 80-92-degree temperatures inside their home.
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Eventually, Invitation Homes provided two temporary AC units for the Womack. He says the models were designed to cover a total of 200 sq ft of their 1600 sq ft house. The overworked machines eventually ran up their electric bill to more than $800.
For Tara and Alvin Anderson in Gwinnett County, mold ended up filling their home after some water damage.
They said Invitation Homes did not adequately remediate the mold, resulting in a growth of mold spores inside the home.
The Andersons paid out of pocket for a private mold test, which showed various levels of mold were detected inside the home.
Tara Anderson believes her husband received a bacterial infection from prolonged exposure to the mold. Medical records provided to Channel 2 Action News show Anderson was diagnosed with multiple infections resulting in his leg having to be amputated.
“When they said we’re going to have to take your whole leg off that broke my heart,” Alvin Anderson said.
The couple was receiving state assistance to pay the rent from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. After multiple inspections the state said the home didn’t meet its Housing Quality Standards, resulting in the state revoking housing payments for this property.
The Andersons were forced to move out in June.
“They ruined our lives, we came in here thinking this was a beautiful home and it was a home from hell,” Tara Anderson said.
The settlement still needs to be approved by a federal judge.
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