Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest landlord of single-family homes, has agreed to pay $48 million and to stop a significant number of its rental practices, including misleading renters about lease costs and charging undisclosed fees characterized by the FTC as junk fees, according to an agreement approved Sept. 27 by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
The company and the FTC had reached agreement on a settlement after the FTC took action against the company.
The $48 million will be used to refund consumers the FTC said were harmed by Invitation’s actions. Among other things, the terms of the agreement will require the company to clearly disclose its leasing prices and to establish policies to handle security deposits fairly.
The FTC complaint leveled myriad allegations against the company, including:
- Deceptive pricing and junk fees. The FTC said the company failed to disclose fees that could cost renters more than $1,700 yearly. They included fees for such services as “smart home” technology and “utility management.” Renters were not permitted to opt out of such fees.
- Deceptive promises of home inspections and around-the-clock emergency maintenance. The FTC said that when renters arrived at their homes, they found them in need of significant repairs; the commission alleged that between 2018 and 2023, residents in 33,328 properties submitted at least one work order within the first week after moving in in.
- Deceptive and unfair withholding of security deposits. The commission said that the company regularly withheld security deposits when renters moved out—charging them for normal wear-and-tear on their homes.
- Unfair eviction practices. The commission said the company engaged in unfair eviction practices, including evicting renters during the COVID-19 pandemic, when national and state restrictions on evictions were in place. The FTC said that in some cases, Invitation began eviction proceedings even after renters had moved out of their homes.
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