Invitation Homes Inc. has been hit with a class action lawsuit challenging its practice of charging tenants late fees even when the rent is paid just one hour late and the company incurs no actual damage from the delay.
According to the rental late fee class action lawsuit, the rental market has changed substantially since the market crash 10 years ago caused millions of families to lose their homes through foreclosure, short sale, or surrender to a lender.
“Since then, national and global private equity firms have snatched up tens of thousands of single-family homes at hugely discounted prices (sometimes subsidized by the government and taxpayers), which they have then turned into rental properties,” the Invitation Homes class action lawsuit says.
“In short, the residential rental industry has recently undergone a massive transformation and consolidation out of the hands of small and family landlord businesses (who had direct ties to and relationships with their tenants), and into the large arms of private equity, hedge fund, and other Wall Street giants whose allegiances run solely to their investors, and whose motivations are driven purely by stock price and by showing and growing those all-important quarterly earnings.”
Plaintiff Jose Rivera says these Wall Street landlords evict their tenants at a far higher rate than other landlords of single-family homes. According to the Invitation Homes class action lawsuit, they also increase the rent for the properties, fail to do necessary maintenance, and assess illegal fees on tenants.
Rivera says the Wall Street landlords impose inflated “late” rent penalties and “penalties that stack on top of penalties that, themselves, cause a tenant to fall behind (even when they are paying their actual rent), leading to their eviction.”
According to the rental late fees class action lawsuit, publicly-traded Invitation Homes is the “largest player in this newly transformed rental market.” Rivera claims Invitation Homes charges tenants an initial fee of $95 for late rent payments, even if the payment is received just one hour past the grace period.
Rivera says he was a tenant of an Invitation Homes property in California. He claims he was subjected to the company’s allegedly illegal late rent penalty policy and was forced to pay the fees to Invitation Homes.
On at least one occasion, when Rivera attempted to pay his rent online through the company’s web portal, the web portal was not working. He contacted the company and was allegedly told not to worry about it and to keep trying. After multiple attempts to pay online were unsuccessful, he mailed in his payment, at which point it was technically “late.”
Invitation Homes reportedly returned Rivera’s check to him because the payment was late and did not include payment for the additional late fees and penalties.
According to the late rent fees class action lawsuit, Invitation Homes threatened to evict Rivera even though he paid his rent in full but failed to pay the late fees. Not wanting to be evicted from his home, he paid the $95 late fee plus $895 in “legal” fees.
Rivera claims these fees are arbitrary amounts and constitute illegal penalties. He filed the Invitation Homes class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed nationwide Class of tenants who were charged penalties or fees for paying rent that was deemed late or deficient. He also seeks to represent a California Class.
The plaintiff is represented by Craig M. Nicholas, Adam Tomasevic and Shaun Markley of Nicholas & Tomasevic LLP.
The Invitation Homes Late Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Jose Rivera v. Invitation Homes Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-03158-JCS, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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53 thoughts onInvitation Homes Class Action Challenges Rental Late Fees
Greetings,
Can someone please reach out to me. I rented from IH and I was scammed out of 7k. In addition too, their inspectors commit fraud. I have evidence!
IH, I told you this day would come..
I was I would love that info too.
Can someone please reach out to me for information on how to file a class action lawsuit or join the current one in California. I can attest that all these claims are true. I am a resident of IH in Las Vegas, moved in Sept 2020 and already have over 40 work orders.
OMG please tell me how to join
How can I join this class action suit for the state of Georgia
Has anyone found any information on how to join/start a class action against Invitation Homes? We had a nightmare of an experience with them. Always paid rent on time, the house was always needing work, pipes leaked and flooded part of the house twice, dryer vent was installed incorrectly and our dryer motor caught on fire, contractors stopped showing up when they were working and we had to fight for over a year to have it fixed, we eventually just broke our lease.
Invitation Homes is an awful company that is trying to squeeze every penny that they can for themselves and their bottom line.
I’d definitely join this too, our first year things needed maintenance but nothing crazy and now since covid for routine visits we’ve been charged about $1000 in the last 3 visits between AC, plumbing and dryer. You’re forced to pay the fees since it’s how they lump it with rent and the latest fee is so absurd $325 without any evidence. This company is scamming their tenets.
I’d like to join the suit if possible
Did you ever find out how to join in this lawsuit? If you did let me know. I need to get in on this also. Especially now that I have lost my job due to Corona and now have a newborn. Already biting my nails on this one. From experience with this b company I am seriously worried about what will happen if I can’t pay May’s rent.
4 weeks of raw sewage coming thru my home. Numerous plumbers no fixes . Invitation homes doesn’t want to pay the cost to fix it .
How can we join in this legal matter? #invitationhomestenant
This happen to me and I lost/ was evicted after paying legal fees and sighting up for another year lease because a check was returned for being 73$ short when they received over 900$ in fees and returned checks off over 4000 ect… please call me Gerrad ward 661-666-7776
As I read all the reviews of Invitation Homes, I had so many similar experiences and concur with all the negative reports. I have lived in one of their units for two years and have paid every month. I am so upset as to what has transpired in the way Invitation Homes has treated me over the last week in making an agreement regarding a payment arrangement they made with me in allowing A charity to make a one time contribution towards my rent because of an unexpected financial hardship I’m dealing with. The full rent was going to be paid in full with the charity paying a small portion and me paying the rest. The checks however would be coming in separately to the billing office with both being a few days late which was acceptable to the invitation Homes management evident in part via several corresponding emails being sent back and forth between my donating charity and Invitation Homes that included Invitation Homes signing documentation agreeing to said transactions. I am so upset I can’t even write the most upsetting parts of my experience. But I must mention they put a 3-day Notice to Pay or Vacate on my door yesterday. Out of the blue Invitation Homes decided that the rent agreement we had made that included the charity sending in their payment separate from my payment was not acceptable any longer even after having numerous communications that it was acceptable. I have been a good tenant and I am a single mother who will have only one month of temporary hardship in which a charity offered to donate a portion of my rent to help pay the full amount. On top of that my very ill mother who has Stage 4 cancer is staying with me on my couch for a few days because of some procedures I need to take her to and when she found out this was happening she was so distraught and she is already practically on her death bed. Invitation Homes expects me to vacate the premises if I don’t pay the total amount of rent due before the 3rd day of this notice WHEN THEY HAVE THE TWO CHECKS FOR MY RENT PAYMENT FLYING IN THE AIR THROUGH THE MAIL RIGHT NOW AS I AM WRITING THIS!!!!!!!? They probably could’ve had their money by now if they wouldn’t have went against their agreement and started mailing the two checks back to us to two separate locations making it impossible to catch them to run and bring them to the office before the third day is up and I’m supposed to be kicked out. PLEASE – DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE THE ABSURDITY AND THE INHUMANE NATURE THAT INVITATION HOMES HAS DISPLAYED TOWARDS THIS SITUATION AND MY FAMILY WHO ARE IN VULNERABLE CONDITIONS. NOT ONLY HAS INVITATION HOMES BROKE MY LEASES STIPULATIONS IN THE AVAILABLE OPTION TO ALLOW PARTIAL PAYMENTS BUT INVITATION HOMES HAS BROKEN THE CALIFORNIA TENANT AND LANDLORD LAWS. ONCE A LANDLORD ACCEPTS A PARTIAL PAYMENT THEY WAIVE THEIR RIGHT FOR THE INITIAL EVICTION PROCESS OF THAT MONTH.INVITATION HOMES IS CLAIMING THEY DIDNT ACCEPT MY PARTIAL RENT PAYMENT OF $1,565.00 YET I HAND DELIVERED THE CHECK TO INVITATION HOMES BILLING OFFICE FROM MY HAND TO THE OTHER EMPLOYEES HAND AND HE SAID ”THANK YOU”. INVITATION HOMES TOOK MY CHECK DIRECTLY IN THEIR HAND AND ACCEPTED IT AND THEN A DAY OR TWO LATER THEY GIVE ME A THREE DAY NOTICE SAYING THEY WONT ACCEPT IT AND ARE MAILING IT BACK. I HAVE SPOKE TO MANY INDIVIDUALS TODAY INCLUDING RECEIVING LEGAL ADVICE AND NO ONE CAN BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING AND I BASICALLY FEEL IVE BEEN STABBED IN THE BACK.My partial rent payment of $1,565.00 is being mailed back to me via US certified mail because my charity check hadn’t gotten there yet. For all I know the charity check of $600 may have made it to their office already just as they had mailed back to me my $1565.00 check. And now they are mailing back the charity’s rent payment. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY LOGICAL SENSE?? I think my three day notice to be kicked out will be up soon and how the heck is it physically feasible to get both checks back together if they are in the mail going different directions. HAS ANYONE READ THE MISSION STATEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HOMES? PROCLAIMING HOW WONDERFUL THEY TREAT THEIR RESIDENTS AND HOW THEY ARE ”RESIDENT-CENTRIC”??? It is so frustrating that they get away with treating residents so unfairly. AM I GOING TO TAKE THIS SITTING DOWN? NO. MY POOR MOTHER WHO’S DYING CANT BE IN THE MIDST OF THIS UNFAIR AND ILLEGAL CHAOS WITH ME FRETTING AND TRYING TO PACK UP THE WHILE HOUSE TO BE ON THE STREETS WHEN IM SUPPOSED TO BE CARING FOR HER WHEN SHE IS SO FRAGILE AND ILL? IM GOING TO GO ON EVERY INVITATION HOMES RATING SITE SUCH AS THIS AND CONTACT ALL GOVERNMENT TYPE ENTITIES AND PRIVATE ASSOCIATIONS RELATED TO TENANTS RIGHTS IN WHICH I CAN SUBMIT FORMAL COMPLAINTS. AND, I WILL OBTAIN LEGAL COUNSEL. MAYBE THIS WOULDNT BE AS DEVASTATING TO RESIDENTS WHO HAVE AMPLE ENOUGH INCOME TO JUST PICK UP AND MOVE BUT WHEN A TENANT HASNT DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND IS BEING THREATENED THAT THEY WILL BE EVICTED FOR AN AGREEMENT THAT THEY THEMSELVES DIDNT BREACH AND HAVE TO PACK UP AND BE KICKED OUT AND PROBABLY BE HOMELESS BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE MUCH MONEY BECAUSE NOW THEY ARE EVICTED THEY LEGALLY CANNOT HAVE THEIR TWO TIMES THE RENT SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK ($3,800) TO AT LEAST GET A PLACE TO LIVE AND HAVE A MOTHER WHO DOESNT HAVE MUCH TIME TO LIVE STAYING WITH YOU ON THE COUCH TEMPORARILY JUST UNTIL HER SERIOUS PROCEDURES ARE FINISHED AND NOW GIVEN THE CHAOS OF TRYING TO MOVE QUICKLY YOUR MOTHER ISNT RECEIVING HER TREATMENT AND YOUR CHILD COULD BE HOMELESS TO. I AM WHOLEHEARTEDLY NOT EXAGERATING IN THIS REVIEW POST. THIS IS REALITY OF INVITATION HOMES AND THEIR CRUEL PRACTICES!!!!
I think there’s ALOT more to invitation homes that needs to be brought up in a class action suit. IE unresponsiveness, charging random vague charges to rent and move out statements and refusing to explain or respond to any type of contact – ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMPANY
This company has totally jipped us with these so called “ move out fees”,
Our deposit was in total $3355. We only received $756.68.
I agree