Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/15/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Over the summer of 2024 (July/August) flooring that had been replaced a year prior began to raise and break apart. I initiated a maintenance request on 9/27/24 (#*******). In late October, I contacted First Key thru appropriate channels to get an update on the request. I was told the request had been escalated and given the name "*****" and a new ticket #*******. Within a couple of days, I spoke with an individual on the phone who indicated that he was familiar with the replacement and it would be addressed soon. In November, someone came to the house to inspect and measure for replacement flooring. Since then there has been no contact or activity concerning this issue. On January 15, I again contacted FirstKey Homes about this issue. I was told that they would AGAIN escalate the request and was given a new ticket #*******. The management staff for this property has proven to be negligent. The condition of the home has been neglected during a leak that lasted for nearly a week in 2023 (the cause of the flooring issue to begin with), in replacing damaged flooring over wet subflooring that led to deterioration of the new flooring, use of substandard, mis-matched building materials in addressing the initial flooring issues (clearly cost driven), and completely ignoring concerns over degradation of the flooring for well over three months. I feel that FirstKey does not place emphasis on service and does a poor job of maintaining the living conditions of their properties.

  

  Business response

  02/12/2025

  Hi ******,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with getting your flooring repair completed. I am sorry if there were any delays in the repair but I do see that this was completed a few weeks ago and I do not see a new work order created since, so it appears the concern was resolved. If you have any further concerns at this time, you can email your local team at *************************************** and/or email me at *****************************************************************.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

  Customer response

  02/13/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

• Initial Complaint

  01/12/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We are renters of a property located at ******************************************************************************** which is owned and managed by First Key Homes. We pay our rent in advance, and we are never late. We have resided here for two years and pay a monthly rent of $1880. Since the end of August 2024, we have been experienced issues with the sewage system at the residence. We have made several requests for them to come out and fix the issues as it poses a health hazard. To date, they have failed to rectify the matter. It was determined that the sewer pump MUST be replaced, and no one has come out to fix it. Each additional request gets cancelled by First Key as a "duplicate request" even though the matter has never been resolved. We were also advised by one of their contractors that ********* has been contacted about the issue on several occasions and First Key never provided authorization to fix the sewer pump. As of today, we continue to have large amounts of raw sewage overflowing into our front yard and into the street and drains. Our children and grandchildren play in the front yard, and the inside of the house smells like a sewer. When we shower the water in the toilet bubbles up, signifying back up. Also, I am sure that inhaling the fumes of raw sewage and allowing raw sewage to drain into the yard and ultimately into the street drains is a health hazard and a biohazard. Copies of our lease agreement, requests to First Key to fix the issue, and communications with the contractors is attached. I also have video of the sewage that continues to spew out onto our front lawn. My biggest fear is that at some point the sewage will begin to back up into the residence. I have a husband who is disabled with chronic and severe health issues. If you cannot assist with this matter, can you please point me in the right direction. Warmly, ***** ******** (Cell: ************/ email: *********************************)****** ******** (Cell: ************/ email: *************************

  

  Business response

  02/10/2025

  Hi ******,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the septic concerns you have had in the home. I am sorry that this has been an issue for you and I do see that the septic was repaired and completed on 1/30. If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to create a new work order and/or email your local market at ***********************************************************************************************************.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

  Customer response

  02/10/2025

  Took BBB action to get the matter resolved. Thank you BBB. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The home that I am currently renting is not in a healthy livable condition. Almost every maintenance technician's recommendations are ignored or declined. Not able to properly feed and bathe ourselves. We ask that FirstKey Homes take action within 7 days. Relocate us and make recommended repairs by maintenance techs or end lease and refund of security deposit. The stove intermittently works, the coils do not always get hot.When using Microwave, Toaster, Stove, etc, circuit breakers keep getting tripped.There is not enough power available for appliances and is damaging the appliances.Electrical issues throughout the house present prior to moving in. Lights flicker randomly and are causing new bulbs to blow.There are exposed wires in closets and outside, some are broken.The dishwasher was unusable when moving in, and the new replacement is leaking.The floors are damaged and peeling prior to moving into the home. They are warped and coming out from water damage. The maintenance tech recommendations are declined. Mold from water damage is in the floors and causes harm to respiratory.Water leaks found by Maintenance in closet behind master bathroom.Pipes potentially leaking inside walls and mold could be present.A whining noise can be heard in master shower. We are not able to use the shower or sink in that bathroom.The fence has been broken prior to moving in. FirstKey communicated that this would be fixed before moving in.The maintenance technician reported to FirstKey to contact neighbors/landlords, however when asked for status updates, none are **************** are breaking due to window frames bending inwards from bad foundation of the house. This is a known issue for over a year per the maintenance tech.This is impacting the air quality and air conditioning functionality.Broken windows allow bugs, mold, and pollen inside the home.The maintenance tech's solution is to put tape over the cracked window and have FirstKey Homes fix the windows.

  

  Business response

  02/10/2025

  Hi *****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the maintenance concerns you are having in the home. I am so sorry for the troubles you are experiencing in the home. I've looked into your work orders and communication with the local team in January, and see that work orders have been created for the foundational concern to see what the steps may be to provide you with a better functioning home. We will continue to work to find a solution for you.
  

  If you need further assistance at this time, please email me your local team at ************************************** and/or myself at *****************************************************************.
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/08/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Were trying to dispute our security deposit that our previous land lords kept, despite us cleaning the house, having a professional team come in and clean it, and taking pictures of it before we left. They wont answer our calls, or emails, and are demanding we pay them, over $1K, despite them keeping our entire deposit. Theyre not being professional, and on review of their Yelp reviews, they have done this to many other people as well. We have pictures to show the condition of the house, there were four of us roommates, and we have all tried to call, left voicemails, and sent emails, that havent been answered. We are getting a lawyer involved, because we want our security deposit back, and were not getting any answers. Theyre charged us for painting, they charged of for three months of utilities, that we paid for during those months, as well as for carpeting the entire house, and the fireplace that they told us didnt work, and many other charges. Over $2K for carpeting the entire house, for no reason.

  

  Business response

  02/06/2025

  Hi ********,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the charges on your move-out final accounting. I am sorry for any troubles and see that you have been able to talk through this and have made the necessary payments to satisfy the balance due in full as of 1/29.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/08/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a scheduled maintenance visit on 1/6 for an issue that we were having with our bathroom sink. That morning around 8:15 am, the technician called my partner and confirmed that he was 15 minutes away from the residence. She confirmed that we were home, then we waited for his arrival. Forty five minutes later he had yet to show up however, she received an email stating that the maitenance order was completed. Which is mind boggling because no one ever showed up to our residence! We even called back the number that he used to call us with earlier that morning multiple times with no response. We then called first key homes and discussed the email that we received and the issue at hand that a technician never showed. The representative then said that the technician claimed to have left a note on our door as if no one was home. Mind you we verified that he never arrived by reviewing our camera footage and have this as evidence to dispute the claim. I also wanted to mention that there was no note left on our door as she claimed either. No one ever pulled up our driveway that morning or walked to our front door. After this was stated, the representative advised that she would escalate the claim. Which from our experience nothing will come from it. We have had various issues with First Key homes. Their customer service and the value they place on their renters is severely lacking. I would not recommend this rental company to anyone! They should definitely be reported for how they treat us. I digress, but on Monday, 1/6, the representative scheduled us for an urgent repair to rectify this issue along with the complaint/escalation. Now Im writing this complaint on 1/8 to BBB since I have not heard a word from First Key Homes, and wake up with a charge of $105 dollars for a so called missed visit on 1/6 and still have not had a technician come out and complete the needed services that the representative confirmed would be done on 1/6.

  

  Business response

  02/06/2025

  Hi *******,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with being charged for the Service fee of $105 on 1/6. I am terribly sorry for the troubles and I do see that the fee charge was reversed the same day this complaint came in, 1/8/25. Should you ever have concerns like this again, you can email your local team at ************************************** and/or you can email me at *****************************************************************.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/05/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have lived in a FirstKey Homes new build rental since May of 2022. In the less than 3 years that we have resided here, we have had 7 maintenance requests. 5 of which being for the same issue - our water heater consistently goes out causing lack of hot water. FirstKey is aware that this has been a persistent problem yet have done very little to find a permanent resolution nor seem to care to find one. Instead, they throw bandaids on something that probably needs surgery. The prior 4 times, the heating elements had been replaced and the last time this happened, they cleaned out the mildew and replaced the thermostat in the water heater yet the problem happened again. Yesterday morning (1/4/2025), I went to go take a shower prior to going to work and the water never got hot so I had to skip out on bathing before heading to work. Before leaving, I checked the breaker and it had tripped yet again. We turned it back on and once I was done with my 12-hour shift, I was fully expecting to be able to take a hot shower and only got 5 minutes worth of hot water before it was freezing cold again. We pay $2,110 a month in rent and hot water should not be something that we have to call in for every 2 months especially in a house that was built shortly before us moving in. Not only this, but we have even had black mold due to a roof leak. FirstKey has now gone well over 24 hours without responding or scheduling a maintenance technician to come out to the residence for the water heater since our ticket has been made. We have given them several chances over and over to rectify this issue but a fifth time is four times too many for the same issue to keep happening. I am more than displeased with how this has been handled and extremely unsatisfied with the lack of response and urgency regarding this matter. This is a breach of Warranty of Habitability and noncompliance with Indiana Code Section 32-31-8 Duties of Landlord at Commencement of and During Occupancy.

  

  Business response

  01/27/2025

  Hi *****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the hot water in the home. I am sorry for the troubles but it appears that the issue with the hot water in the home was resolved by yourself on 1/5 and when our vendor was out to the home to assist, request for a water softener to be installed was received, after you had replaced the heating element on 1/5. This was the note from our authorized service provider, J *****:

  "Inspected water heater. Tenant replaced heating element on 1/5. Unit is 3 years old. Heavy sediment found in unit. Tenant is requesting a water softener."

  Unfortunately, this is not something we do and as the hot water resolution was completed, I do not believe there is anything further needed at this time. If you have any further concerns, please email your local team at ****************************************************************.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  ****************** is trying to keep a portion of our security deposit unjustly. Photos in their own report show no visible or noticeable damage incurred to justify the charges they are claiming.We were charged the garage lights, all of which are working in your photos and were replaced by me personally. I replaced ALL BULBS in the house that were burnt out. ALL BULBS worked upon us leaving the property. We had multiple issues with power surges causing bulbs to go out. When I called to complain top FirstKey, we were told to file a complaint with the power company. We filed a complaint with *********** about it. Duke incident ticket number (power surges): D15958219. Please contact them if you have questions regarding it. I am requesting this charge be removed. The bulbs you charged us for in bathroom 2 were as pictured when we moved in. I would highly recommend checking your photos from the last ******* if you do not believe this to be true. Please remove this charge.Additionally, I see no issues with the garage doors in the photos and we were charged a fee for those. There is no way you can expect the tenant to have damaged the weatherstripping. I would highly recommend checking your photos from the last ******* as there was no change in the condition of the garage weatherstripping while we inhabited the ******** far as pressure washing the exterior goes, I submitted multiple work orders to FirstKey for the exterior of the home being rotten in places and stated I would not be pressure washing it for fear of damaging the siding, door jambs and window *****, many of which are still rotten and were just painted over. I am requesting that the charge for pressure washing be removed.Wall hangings are considered a regular wear item and no significant damage was incurred in the Formal Living Room next to entry. Please remove this charge.

  

  Business response

  02/10/2025

  Hi *****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with your final move-out charges and balance due. I am sorry for the troubles and we have been in contact via *************************************** previously. I see that some of the charges have been credited back and you are requesting further credits. I have reached out to your Property Manager, ********, whom you have been emailing with as well, in regard to the further credits to have this looked into for you. I will have her contact you with the final decision.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

  Customer response

  02/11/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to ***** need to proceed further.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I lost my job and exhausted my savings making it difficult to make my monthly payment on-time. However, I reached out to my landlord and informed them of the situation. I spoke with ****** ******, Property Manager who told me that she would work with me and that my payment arrangement (see email dated 10/7/24) was acceptable because it kept my account below ****** for each month. I told her that I would work to maintain the less than 30days, payment arrangement by the end of each month. And in November I was able to bring the account current. I made arrangements to pay my December balance on 12/31/24. But I realized that I could not pay this amount online because January's bill had already posted to my account and I could not breakup the payment by month. So, due to the New Year holiday, I called the office on January 2, 2025 to make my payment. Because, I am still having some financial hardship, I wanted to pay the December rent, utilities, and fees with two forms of payment a debit card and a credit card. The customer service agent told me that they would only accept the full amount of $4063 current due. That as of January 1, 2025 FirstKey Homes had changed their policy and they only accept full balance payments. We are not able to make the full balance at this time. But per my payment arrangement emailed to Ms. ****** on 10/7/24, I will have the account brought to current by 02/01/2025. I want to pay my rent. But my renter is making this almost impossible and placing me in a situation where I will be more delinquent. I want to know my rights. Is it legal for a renter to negotiate a resolution, then nullify that agreement by changing their internal policy so that you can not bring your account current in a timely manner? Is this legal, because they won't accept my payment they are beginning the process to evict me, my elderly mother and my daughter!

  

  Business response

  01/27/2025

  Hi *****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with paying your rent due because of losing your job. I am so sorry to hear you lost your job and we fully understand how difficult that can be. I do see that you were able to work with ****** and pay your balance due last week, on 1/23. We apologize for any inconvenience but appreciate working with us.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Im renting a house from first key my lease started in October. My heat hasnt worked the entire time. I have submitted emergency maintenance request several times with no response my last ticket has been open since 12/22/2024. My kids as well as myself are all sick! I have had to pay for hotel rooms. The temperature is going to drop even lower tonight and I cant get another hotel. Ive purchased heaters but they dont warm the house up due to the size of the home. The the lack of service is not acceptable. I have called requested manager/ supervisor. They dont provide you with local contact information and their support is based out side of *****************. I would like my heat working today or immediately let out of my lease. I would like a credit for the 3 days of hotel. I want my heat fixed today and a call from a person at the local office.

  

  Business response

  02/10/2025

  Hi ****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the heat in the home. I am sorry to hear you are having any concerns with the heating in the home. I do understand that this is a dual unit home, and that the issues is with the lower level unit. It has been repaired at each step of the way with the fix was needed at that time but I am sorry that other issues seem to arise. At this time, I see that all work has been completed on the unit and hopefully this last repair will resolve the issue fully. If it does not, please continue to put in work orders for the concern and our team will continue to respond and resolve as quickly as possible.
  
  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  First Key Homes is renting out a property that is mold-infested. I had been residing here for almost a year when I started noticing severe health issues, including trouble breathing, constant headaches, and burning eyes. I observed black spots growing on the ** vents. I wanted to leave the home due to these conditions, but I was informed that I needed to hire a mold inspector. Only after they received a report confirming the mold would they consider terminating my lease. I then hired a mold inspector who confirmed the mold was uninhabitable, and with the moisture content of the walls, it was likely that the walls also had mold. I sent the report over to my property manager and multiple other employees at ********* Homes, and they continuously stated there were no hazard findings from the report I was sending and that I would not be able to terminate my lease. Unfortunately, due to the health issues that are arising and the recommendation from my property manager that I felt unsafe in the home, I was able to vacate until the issues were resolved. However, I still have to pay rent. I was under the impression after speaking with a higher-up that they would be sending their own mold inspector/remediator to confirm the multiple findings in the home, and then we could discuss terminating my lease. When the ************ contacted me to schedule, they informed me that they were told to clean the vents rather than inspect them. I informed them that I also wanted the walls to be inspected, so I would reach back out to my property manager because I was not under the impression that they were going to be cleaning. Once we reached this point in the process, they were continuously asking if I was staying in the home, and I continuously kept informing them that I was not as they recommended. They then decided to take the home and charge me up to $10,000 in fees, included fees for early termination and other fees associated with leaving early.

  

  Business response

  01/27/2025

  Hi *****,
  
  We have received your complaint and appreciate the opportunity to work on this with you. The complaint implies challenges with the potential growth you experienced in the home you were renting. I am sorry to hear about this concern and I assure you, our team was willing to assist and remediate any growth concern within the home. It appears that in looking into your account, you did not provide our team the opportunity to inspect and remediate before you chose to vacate the home on 6/25/24. An email was sent to you on 8/13/24 from your Property Manager, ******, stating:

  "Hi there, as promised , I have met with my team and it was concluded the findings in the home was something our vendors could have remediated, the home was habitable. We understand they were not allowed access to the home to remedy at times therefore causing delays, however, I am in receipt of you vacating the home , it will be as of recent when we were told the home is vacant and belongings are removed. Any ledger balances as of today are due. Please note our post move out **** will be in contact with you after 30 days of move out to discuss the final balance and payment, Thank you for your residency while with FKH , if you need anything further feel free to reach out to us,"

  Unfortunately, because we were not provided the opportunity to resolve the concern and you vacated the property early and without notice, as well as vendor assigned to inspect was denied to complete any work by you, the charges were determined to stand and are due. Your account was sent to our 3rd party collections company and balance due would need to be satisfied through them.

  We take this matter seriously and thank you for your patience as we looked into your comments.
  
  Thank you,
  
  *****
  FirstKey Homes

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩