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Invitation Homes deceived renters and will refund $48 million, FTC says
Invitation Homes has agreed to pay $48 million to settle federal claims that the nation’s biggest landlord for single-family homes deceived renters about lease fees and other costs, while unfairly pocketing tenants’ security deposits, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.
The Dallas-based company charged tens of millions of dollars in “junk fees” between 2021 and 2023, the FTC said in a statement. The mandatory monthly fees covered services such as smart-home technology and air filter delivery that could cost up to $1,700 a year, but that weren’t disclosed until renters received their lease or sometimes not until after they’d signed it, according to the agency.
“No American should pay more for rent or be kicked out of their home because of illegal tactics by corporate landlords,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.
“Visible rodent feces”
Invitation Homes, which owns or manages more than 100,000 homes around the U.S., “will be refunding $48 million to residents and changing its practices,” said Larissa Bungo, a senior attorney at the FTC, said in a post on the agency’s website.
The company also made deceptive claims about the condition of the properties it listed for rent, withheld security deposits without cause and failed to let tenants know about federal eviction protections during the pandemic, the agency alleged.
Marketing a “worry-free leasing lifestyle” and promising pre-inspected homes before move in and 24/7 maintenance, new residents instead faced issues like “sewage backup, broken appliances and visible rodent feces,” Bungo wrote.
In a statement, Invitation Homes said its agreement with the FTC doesn’t admit any wrongdoing by the company, which is publicly traded and valued at nearly $22 billion.
“Today’s agreement brings the FTC’s three-year investigation to a close and puts this matter behind the company, which will, as always, move forward with its continuous efforts to better serve its customers,” Invitation Homes said.
The proposed settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge, requires Invitation Homes to disclose fees in advertised rental prices. It also stipulates that the company cannot withhold security deposits to fix things not caused by tenants.
The enforcement action is the first by the FTC since the agency formed a working group to examine unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices affecting renters.
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There’s still time to become a mega-millionaire for Christmas, but lady luck will have to be on your side.
No one matched Mega Millions‘ all six winning numbers last Tuesday, and the jackpot now stands at $862 million ahead of Friday night’s drawing.
The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.
If there is a sole winner, they have a choice between an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments, or a one-time lump sum payment. Most winners choose a cash payout.
For Friday night’s drawing, that would be an estimated $392.1 million before taxes.
If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
According to Mega Millions, 13 jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002. Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas. There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday, tickets cost $2. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 303 million.
The IRS said Friday it is sending a total of $2.4 billion in “special payments” to 1 million people, part of an effort to ensure that Americans who didn’t receive all of their federal stimulus checks during the pandemic will get the money in their bank accounts.
The payments will vary by person, with a maximum amount of $1,400 per recipient, the agency said in a statement.
“To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.
Who will get a payment from the IRS?
The tax agency said it’s disbursing the funds after reviewing internal data that showed many people had filed tax returns but yet didn’t claim what is known as the “recovery rebate credit” in 2021.
That credit was designed for people who didn’t get all or some of the stimulus checks when they were issued during the pandemic. Lawmakers authorized three stimulus payments, with two sent in 2020 and a third in 2021.
Most taxpayers who were eligible for the stimulus payments have already received them directly, or later through the recovery rebate credit.
Do you need to apply for the IRS payment?
No. The IRS said it’s sending the payments automatically to about 1 million people who filed tax returns and who qualified for the recovery rebate credit yet didn’t claim it. The agency will send a letter to recipients to let them know they will receive the payment.
When will the IRS send the payments?
The tax agency said the checks will be sent in December, with most of the payments arriving by late January 2025.
The money will either be automatically direct deposited to the recipient’s bank account or will arrive in the mail via a paper check.
