#landlord-practices

#landlord-practices

The Dallas-based company, which owns and/or manages more than 110,000 single-family homes in the U.S., is accused of deceiving 441,131 consumers with undisclosed fees and charges totaling $45 or more. People who paid for certain fees and charges between January 2021 and September 2024 will be eligible for checks that will be sent by the FTC.

Under a state law called the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, landlords can reset the starting rent price at any level once tenants move out of a unit and new residents move in. That's where things got tricky in Woo's situation. According to a lawsuit Woo filed in January, their building's property manager had Woo's partner sign the lease in March 2024. Woo, even though they were the one who'd found the apartment and would be moving in together with their then-partner, was told to sign a separate document instead.