Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I lived here for 13 years prior to moving and had a lease with the previous owner, but never had a contract with this company. I received a call on 5/4/23 and was told the rent was going up to $1,000. I had previously been paying $700 on the 15th of the month for rent. When I didn&#**;t agree to those terms I was asked to move and given less than 30 days. The last rent I paid was $700 on 5/15/23 and I moved out on 5/19/23. They said they had to do a walk through and I would receive my deposit within 30 days. When more than 30 days had passed and I still hadn&#**;t received my $800 deposit I contacted the office. I was told the reason I hadn&#**;t received the deposit was because I didn&#**;t give them a 30 days notice. I never had an agreement with them, and they gave me less than 30 days to move out.

  Business response

  08/23/2023

  BHT, LLC is the current owner of the property.  We purchased the property on 06/07/2021.  The complainant was living in the property when we purchased it.  Complainants lease was valid from 6/1/2021 thru 5/30/2023. As with all properties we purchase with tenant already placed, we assume the lease in place at the time.

  As is our normal protocol, when a lease is expiring, we send an Expired Lease Notice (Notice) to our tenants.  This Notice provides information concerning new rental rates as well as intention to work with tenants re: rental increase.  This notice in particular explains that the tenants lease is expiring and requires a response regarding renewing a one-year lease.  Tenant has the option to either renew or remain in the property on a month-to-month basis.  The Notice also requires a response within 30 days to the expiration of the tenants current lease.  In the case of Complainant, her lease expired May 30, 2023.  Further, the notice required that if a tenant does not wish to renew their lease, they were required to send written notice to our office.

  This Notice was sent to tenant around 4/25/23.  The tenant did not respond so our office called the tenant on 5/4/23.  The tenant verbally declined the lease renewal. ****** also signed the Notice indicating that she did not wish to renew the lease for another year.  We specifically tried to reach the tenant to negotiate a new rental rate in an attempt for her to stay in the property. Tenant would not answer our phone call. When tenant called back, she refused to negotiate new rental rate. 
  In our discussions with the complainant on 05/04/23, she stated that she would be moving out of the property.  We requested a written notice.  She refused to do so.  Tenants lease specifically states: This Agreement and the tenancy hereby granted may be terminated at any time by either party hereto by giving to the other party not less than one full months notice in writing.

  ****** has insisted the Notice required her to be out of the property by May 31st which is incorrect.  We requested written notice, as required by her lease, but tenant refused again to comply with her lease terms.   ****** then called our agent to demand a walk-thru of the property on 5/24/23. ****** was unnecessarily mean and unkind to our agent during the walk thru of the property.  ****** left lawn uncut and overgrowth around house, fence line and AC.

  As a result of complainants lack of providing adequate notice to vacate the premises, as required in her lease, and the issues at the property,tenant forfeited her security deposit.

• Initial Complaint

  02/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am the tenants (*************************) daughter I help my mother out a lot my mom has lived in the house sense my junior year of high school and Im now 25 years old. She was renting from a landlord name **** then they sold all there property to this company (BHT LLC) back in June of 2021 when they sent my mom the lease papers first let me just they are very very unorganized we tried to get her set up with the portal and didnt work like the username and password didnt work for the site. So my mom was sending them money orders through ******** The first time she sent a money order to there address it was to the **** Box that was in *******. Which I felt that was odd because if you have a P.O Box location in *********, ** what cant your tenants send their money orders to that location. At they tried to tell her she couldnt do that. That she needed to send the money in the portal. Which another red flag that was weird again. Fast forward I helped my mom with the rental assistance and got all the information from them. They never sent the past due payments weve called plenty of times to have them send it to the rental assistance people. They serve my mom the papers for court. Just to not give her 30 days to leave or come up with the money after they never responding to us so we can give that information to the rental assistance people. They even changed the locks with our stuff in there. Luckily my mom came up with money. We told them about the repairs that needs to be done in the house. And did I mention they brought the house as is so that means the previous owners didnt have to fix anything up before they brought the property. The house has a cracked foundation that when it rains its leaking this house has bad plumbing the upstairs bathroom runs over and leaks down to the basement bathroom. This house needs be sprayed the furnace isnt working so in the winter to keep warm we used the gas stove. Its mold in the dishwasher and its hard to get in touch with anyone

  Business response

  03/01/2023

  BHT, LLC did purchase this property in June of 2021. In my research concerning the tenants daughters complaints, which she states occurred in 2021, I do not find records reflecting issues of not accepting her payments. I show that there were issues of this tenant not paying us rent during the stretch of first 5 months we owned the property.  I also show that we received a few money orders from her as well as electronic payments through various payment centers. 
  Tenants daughter complains that we do not have a ********* PO Box which is untrue.  While we have a ******** PO box, our corporate office, which processes all rental payments, is in *******.Our corporate policies require that any mailed payments are to be sent to the ******* PO Box.  We do not have issues or complaints from our other tenants regarding sending their rental payment to this PO Box.  I feel sure we did explain to the tenant that if she would make her payments via the portal, there would be no delay in payment since the **** system can take several days to process mailed payments.

  My research also indicates that after we purchased the property, we found the tenant was in violation of her lease and city municipality ordinances for caging 5 pit bulls dogs in her back yard, The municipality police visited the property to let the tenant know she was in violation of their ordinance. 

  In an effort to help this tenant with her arrearages, in the fall of 2021, we cooperated to provide documentation and information so she could file for rental assistance. It should be noted, that during this timeframe,the tenant also did not pay her various utilities bills, in that even electricity to her house was being disconnected. Since the tenant did not make any effort to pay her rent arrearages (as stated previously, the tenant did not pay rent for over 5 months), we had no choice but to file eviction on her.  We proceeded with the eviction process and filed for a writ of eviction to have her removed from the house, as per the judgment/court order.  Tenants daughter complains that we changed the locks on the property, which I would assume was due to the sheriffs eviction that was taking place on January 12, 2022.  At the time of the physical eviction, the tenant was able to pay her full balance to stay in the property.

  Tenants daughter implies in her complaint there are unrepaired maintenance items on the property. Our records indicate that almost immediately after we purchased the property, the tenant reported HVAC issues, which were repaired a new unit was installed.  In mid-March 2022, tenant reported upstairs toilet issues and the front screen door was torn off due to strong winds. Both items were repaired and closed out the first part of April 2022. There are no other reported maintenance issues in our system after ************* based on our research I dont find that the tenant reported any other needed repairs that we have neglected.
  

  Tenants daughter further complains that it is hard to get in touch with anyone at our company, which evidence indicates is inaccurate.  ****** was able to contact us with success to help her with her original assistance application; tenant was able to make some payments on her account via money orders, or making payments with a voucher at various payment centers, and also using her portal to submit maintenance work orders for repair.  Further, the tenant was able to contact us via our call center in mid-February to indicate she would be paying her account in full by February 17, 2023.
  To address the other complaints about rental assistance, I submit the following:  In March 2022, we received initial rental assistance which covered rent thru July 2022 and partial rent for August 2022.  The tenant did not make one payment toward any charge on her ledger after the assistance payment was received.  Tenants daughter complains that we did not send the past due payment to the assistance people.  I do not know what the tenants daughter is implying here.  By past due payments I believe she could be referring to the tenants ledger.  As a note for the record, the tenants ledger is available via her online portal.  I do not find any correspondence or conversation from tenant asking us to provide her or the assistance entity documentation for her personal rental assistance.
  

  We reached out to the tenant in mid-January 2023, to officially file for rental assistance with the ********* assistance program.  Unfortunately, the program ended at the end of January 2023.  This tenants application was denied due to no funding available to disburse to applicants.
  

  ******* daughter complains that we serve[ed her] mom the papers for court and did not give her [mom] 30 days to leave or come up with the money to pay her balance due.  While it would be ideal for the tenant for us to tell her she must leave the property, we would have no legal recourse for collecting unpaid rent due from this tenant. The complaint that we did not give the tenant time to come up with the money to pay her balance is ludicrous. The tenant has made no effort to personally pay any charges on her ledger since February 2022.  We were left with no choice but to file eviction,again, in January 2023.  Her rental balance due as of March 1, 2023 is $6,753.50. We received a Court judgment that the tenant must pay her balance in full by the end of February, which as of February 28, 2023, has not been received. 
  

  It would appear from my research that the facts of the matter reflect that the entire BBB complaint is unfounded and solely based on the fact that the tenant is being eviction for non-payment of a substantial amount rent. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I negotiated a 6 month lease with a rate of $850 that would transition to $900 on a month to month basis thereafter: "Following the above mentioned 6 month lease term period after 11/30/2022 terms shall then be Month to Month at the monthly rental rate of $900.00"They sent me a lease renewal notice before the 6 month lease expired stating that my "current monthly rate will automatically increase with an additional 10% until a new yearly lease is signed." I understood this to mean that my current monthly rate at the time ($850), would increase 10% to become $935. They then increased my month-to-month payment to $950, which seems incorrect to me.They refuse to honor the original agreement of a month to month rate of $900, or accept the lease renewal notice language as I understand it.

  Business response

  12/21/2022

  Tenant entered into a negotiated month-to-month lease with owner.  The Terms of the lease state:  Beginning on 06/01/2022 and terminating on 11/30/2022, rent shall be paid in monthly payments for the term of this Lease, totaling and paid monthly. Rental payments of $850.00 a month. Following the above mentioned 6-month lease term period,after 11/30/2022, terms shall then be Month to Month at the monthly rental rate of $900.00 until the Landlord or Tenant terminates the tenancy.
  
  Before the end of the 6-month period,owner provided a Lease Renewal Notice to tenant which expressly stated: Your lease for (property address) will end on 11/30/2022the owner of (property address)has requested a rental increase of $990.00. However, if you sign a 1-year lease with us, we will offer $900.00.  Tenant responded on form: I have decided not to renew & sign a 1 year lease and that he wanted to stay Month-to-Month.  The same lease renewal notice also states:  If this notice is not received by required date, your terms will be month to month and your current monthly rent rate will automatically increase with an additional 10% until a new yearly lease is signed.  Since tenants current lease states that after November 30, 2022, the rental rate shall be $900.00, and since tenant refused to sign a new one-year lease, his monthly rental rate is $990.00 ($900 plus 10%).  The monthly increase did not occur until December 1, 2022 when the monthly rental rate of $900 took effect from his current lease.
  
  This tenant has been a really great tenant and timely in paying monthly rent, so in the spirit of cooperation with this tenant, we will adjust the monthly payments going forward to $935 starting January 1, 2023. The other Terms of his current lease will remain in place.

  Customer response

  12/26/2022

   
  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

  10/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Great ***** bought my property 09/2020 then BHT took over in 02/2021 both are HORRIBLE management companies I've never met not one staff that works for either of these companies. You'll think someone would come out and meet tenants so you'll know who you're renting to but they did no such thing My ledger hasn't been accurate since they took over this property and it's hard to get the property manager or anyone else to return emails or phone calls to get results. I've never had a lease from BHT since they took over my property. When my lease renewed September 2022 they decided they would go up on rent and add tenant to pay sewer which I've never paid the 7 years I been living here owner has always paid sewer. I immediately reached out to property manager to see how and why am I paying sewer all of a sudden and never got a response so I decided I wasn't signing anything until this is resolved I'm not stupid and I won't be binded into a legal contract without knowing all the facts. They stole my rental assistance money I applied to two different agencies in 2021 since I was behind on rent due to not working, someone from BHT sent these rental assistance companies a lease cause as I stated I've never had a lease so I'm assuming my name was forged since tenant and property owner has to sign lease.I have emails stating I have it, then all of a sudden no one knows where it went, when I got behind I had over $4000 on Rental assistance sitting on my "ledger" section 8 stopped paying my rent back in November 2021 because of abatement I still wasn't working so they were paying entire portion of rent, BHT claim they applied that $4000 to past due rent that is no where on my ledger. Fast forward to May 2022 section 8 caught up on rent because abatement ended so I should've been put back in positive status I wasn't nobody knows where this money went but I have emails from staff at BHT saying it was applied to back rent in November 2021 until May 2022. But it wasn't applied.

  Business response

  11/10/2022

  This property was purchased by BHT, LLC in September 2020. At the time of purchase Great ***** managed the property.  BHT, LLC assumed management of this property in February 2021. 

  Complainant is a Section 8 tenant.  A portion of rent is paid by tenant and a portion of rent is paid by government assistance. We acknowledge that the tenants ledger did have some issues.  First, Section 8 was paying the wrong amount of rent as agreed.  The amounts they agreed to pay on their HUD contract were reversed (they were paying tenant portion; tenant was originally being charged Section 8 portion based on what Section 8 paying).  Secondly, Section 8 performed an inspection of the house and noted items that needed attention/repair.  Our company made the necessary repairs timely, but Section 8 never came back to inspect and instead failed/abated the property so that we were not receiving the governments portion of rent during that time.  This activity happened during the ***** pandemic and associated constraints.  It was also during this time, Section 8 suffered several employee losses and turn-over in staff, resulting in a tremendous backlog of payment issues and inspection non-responses.  Our property manager worked with Section 8 for over 6 months to get this situation addressed and resolved. In September 2022, once we had received all updated payments from Section 8, we fully updated and corrected the tenants ledger accordingly as well as reset the tenant charges to the accurate portion since Section 8 had previously incorrectly assigned the wrong amounts, and we reapplied the tenants payment to accurate portion due by tenant. 
  

  As is plainly reflected on the tenants ledger, we did receive two assistance payments on July 21, 2021 in the amounts of $2208.80 and $2385.00.  Prior to receiving the assistance, the tenant made payments for her rent until June 16, 2021.  Since that time, the only payment we have received from the tenant for her rental portion was on October 4, 2022.  There is no explanation why the tenant believes (1) the assistance payments were stolen when clearly the payment are applied to her ledger; (2) there is simply no reasonable scenario that anyone could presume the assistance payments were not applied to a ledger simply on the basis that no other rental payments have been received from the tenant for 15 months.  Her rental portion is $336 per month.  If the assistance were not applied, she would owe more than $5000 for rents, which tenant knows is not the case. Further,as to tenants allegation that someone from BHT sent these rental assistance companies a lease...so I'm assuming my name was forged since tenant and property owner has to sign lease, the tenant is uninformed as to the assistance process.  The ********* assistance program allows a landlord certification of monies owed to landlord when an actual lease is unavailable.  Due to this certification process, no lease is required for this and certainly no forged signature and fake lease were used in this process.  Tenants claim is fallacious and borderline slanderous.  
  

  Complainant indicates she has never had a lease with BHT.  That situation arose due to the issues we had with Section 8, as discussed in the previous paragraphs.  Section 8 requires specific notice and agreement for new lease and rental changes.  That was not possible during the time period Section 8 was backlogged.  As Complainant states in her complaint, we have attempted to work with the tenant to sign a new lease with BHT.  So she complains she doesnt have a lease with BHT then on the other hand says she will not sign a lease with BHT.  ****** also mentions an issue with a new lease requiring the tenant to pay for the sewer charges.  Her previous lease indicated that the owner would pay for the sewer charges during the lease term.  It is a legal and a normal practice for owners to state in a lease which party will assume the utility charges for a property during the term of the lease.  While her previous leases have always required the owner to pay for the sewer charges, there is nothing that prevents the current owner from requiring the tenant to pay these charges going forward. 
  

  We cannot understand why the tenant felt the need to file this baseless complaint with the BBB.  The only real outstanding complaint that was not mentioned in her notice to BBB is that the tenant currently owes our company over $1100 in back rents.  Since she has taken the time to file this complaint, we use this opportunity to respectfully ask the tenant to please make appropriate payments so that we dont have to refer her to her Section 8 casework for non-payment/breach of her lease. 

  Customer response

  11/10/2022

   
  Complaint: 18319797
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Whomever wrote this response is clearly unprofessional for trying to make me look bad when everything you said is a lie as far as rent. I was laid off from work in Feb 2021 until May 2022  Section 8 started paying the full portion of my rent starting in October 2021 they sent out a letter 09/28/2021 stating that starting March 2021 they will be paying full portion (see attachment).So at that point BHT had received two rental assistance payments in July 2021, a lump sum from section 8 (march 2021-oct 2021 rent) also as they stated I paid until June 2021. So as of October 2021 my ledger should've displayed a positive balance which it never did, so not sure why it was stated unprofessionally I would've been 15 months behind in rent don't understand how when section 8 been paying my rent up till may 2022. My balance is negative because I'm trying to understand where the money go before I give anymore money fyi because I know I should still have Assistance up until now.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I rent through this company. Because of their neglect of a home they have owned for years, my neighbors property was damaged. Their fence is completely broken and twisted from a tree I spent months telling BHT needed to be removed immediately. They didnt remove it until it damaged property even though it was clearly rotted and had dropped limbs a few times already. They offered no solutions to me for this and now my neighbor has issues with me because of BHTs neglect. They have brush they have failed to clear out since I moved in. I spent at least 20 hours this week alone trying to clear out the property because of other complaints on this site of BHT charging them and Im scared BHT will do the same when I am ready to move. I always have to push with this company. The home has been neglected. I have pictures of the vents when I moved in which still had cigarette butts in it from previous tenants. Would never rent from them again. I overpay for a home that has been neglected for a while. Even maintenance people that come here laugh at me about how outdated and poorly maintained the home is. The maintence workers have all told me that BHT pays them to do the minimum and is a terrible company from the jobs they have worked before. I just want my neighbors property fixed I feel thats the least they can do. Also waiting on a roof replacement that should have been done before I moved in as there has been missing pieces since then. The worker said there are leaks which I can see through the moldy and wet ceiling they have not replaced yet. This home was sitting on the market for months before I moved in, they had time to do the repairs.

  Business response

  10/12/2022

  The complainant began leasing her current property in November 2020.  At the time of leasing,this property was managed by a different management company.  BHT LLC was not the manager. The issues she claims to have had at the time of leasing were not made aware to the owner.  BHT LLC began managing the property in February 2021.  Our system does not show any requested repairs for this property until January 2022. 
  Complainant implies that BHT LLC does not repair our properties, but our records indicates that since January 2022 she has reported 9 various repairs.  All repairs except those pertaining to her roof, gutters and ceiling has been address and to our knowledge with no further complaints on those issues.

  
  We are trying to assess what needs to be done to repair the roof, gutters and subsequently the ceiling. We have had several contractors look at the property in order to give us a complete bid.  We have found a contractor that can repair the entire job and they estimate the repairs to be completed by next week. Obviously we wouldnt repair a ceiling until the source of the issue/leak is resolved.

  
  Tenant reported tree damage on 6/17/22; tree company removed and hauled away fallen tree on or around 7/27/22. 

  
  Complainant has reported to BBB that BHT, LLCs neglect has damaged the neighbors property.  Our records show there has been no contact from tenants neighbor re: any damage nor has there been any report of damage to neighbors property made to us.
  As to complainants declaration that she cleared brush from the property, her lease requires her to: keep grounds free from unsightly objects and debris as well as keep lawn mowed, shrubbery and trees trimmed and gutter cleaned.  Her executed lease fully indicates keeping the yard in shape and trimming the brush is her responsibility.  Further she claims we (or previous management company) were supposed to clear the brush, but the lease she executed on 11/23/2020 states that: Tenant stipulates, represents and warrants that Tenant has examined and fully inspected the Premises, and that they are, at the time of this Agreement in good order, repair, and in a safe, clean and tenantable condition.  By accepting the Premises and occupying same, ****** hereby agrees that Tenant has accepted the Premises in its AS-IS condition with no warranties expressed or implied.  When she executed the initial lease, she stated the property was in good standing.

  It's hard for us to understand why the tenant has submitted this report implying we are not responsive to her maintenance requests. If the property was so terrible to reside in and in such disrepair, it would seem logical she would have left the property at the time of her lease renewal. Further, this past year or so, the tenant had such significant balances due for rent that we could have, on two separate occasions, turned the tenant over to eviction.  Instead, our management helped the tenant by working with her to get rental assistance both times, so that she could remain in the property.  We value our relationship with this tenant and hope we can continue to work with tenant in the future.

• Initial Complaint

  06/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In April 2022 I moved out of a property that I had been renting for 2 years. I originally in the beginning rented the property from a company called Great *****. At the time I moved into the property 5/2020 the exterior backyard trees were over grown around the edges. The interior of the home had been spot painted and it was very noticeable. Fast forward January 2021 a new management company took over. No one came to view the home or anything. Once I moved out in April 2022 I was sent a move out calculation **** saying that my deposit of $850would be kept for the reasons listed below and that I owe an additional $760 for them painting the interior of the home. I am disputing ALL of this and I have pictures dated the day of move out of interior and exterior. Replace Blinds $160 Repair Fence ****** Smoke Detector $50.00 Paint interior $140.00 Trim Bushes $400.00 Paint Interior $760

  Business response

  07/08/2022

  As stated by Claimant, he moved into the property in May of 2020.  Tenant moved out of the property in April 2022.  The original lease was signed by the tenant with Great *****, the management company of the property at the time of his leasing the property. 

  
  Claimant alleges that property was in the painted condition upon his move-in, yet his lease, executed by him, states: Tenant stipulates,represents and warrants that TENANT has examined and fully inspected the Premises, and that they are, at the time of the agreement in good order, repair and in a safe, clean and tenantable condition. His executed leased further states: Tenant upon occupying the Premises does hereby waive any and all claims against Landlord and Agent that the Premises was not in the condition as agreed upon by the parties at the inception of the Agreement.

  Tenants lease also states: I (Tenant) understand that I am responsible for maintaining my lawn, to includetrimming bushes and trees as needed
  

  Tenant executed a new lease with current owner management which states:
  

  "3.8 Responsibilities In addition the prior responsibilities set forth herein, tenant shall.. 8. Keep lawn mowed, shrubbery trimmed and gutter cleaned."

  So tenant signed two leases to reside in the property, both of which state that he agreed the property was in move-in condition and that he would be responsible for trimming bushes and trees.

  Furthermore, the tenants lease with owner management stipulates:  1.8 Security Deposit.Owner will refund an amount of money to the Tenant equal to the security deposit less any charges for damage to the property (including full painting of the property), other than ordinary wear and tear, clean up or removal of any debris or possessions abandoned by tenant, and lawn and maintenance, which was the duty of the Tenant..
  The fees assessed for the condition of the property upon the tenant vacating are not unreasonable and are in line with the executed leases signed by the tenant.

  In an effort to resolve this situation, the owner has agreed to return half the tenants security deposit and write off the remaining $1185.00 of damages owed based on condition of the house.

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I HAVE 2 DIFFERENT COMPLAINTS. I CONTACT **** AT OFFICE ON 4/28/22 AND INFORMED HER THAT MY AIR WASN'T WORKING AND THAT I HAD PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED 2 ONLINE REQUEST AS ON 5/12 MY AIR IS STILL NOT WORKING ITS 87 DEGREES IN MY HOUSE. I AM 100% DISABLED RECEIVING DISABILITY ON A FIXED INCOME DUE TO RADIAL NERVE PALSY AND A BRAIN TUMOR WITH SHUNT PLACEMENT. BECAUSE OF THIS IM EXPERIENCING ANXIETY AND STRESS AND HAVE TO HAVE A BRAIN SCAN TODAY BECAUSE OF THE HEAT CAUSING HORRIBLE HEADACHES. THEN I PAID MY MAY ****** 4/29 THEN NOTICED I STILL HAVE A BALANCE OF $240 CALLED **** AT OFFICE WAS INFORMED ABOUT A SEWER **** I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. I'VE LIVED AT MY ADDRESS SINCE 2018 AND HAVE NEVER PAID A SEWER **** EVER IN LIFE. THEY CHARGED ME FROM 11/2021 UNTIL 04/22 AND SAID ITS DUE NOW AND CHARGING ME A $5 LATE FEE OF A EXTRA $100 A MONTH FOR A **** I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT AND TOLD ME MY RENT WASN'T PAID AND THEYH USED MY RENT PAYMENT TOWARDS THIS. AGAIN I AM DISABLE ON A FIXED INCOME AND ITS NOT FAIR TO JUST CHARGE SOMEONE FOR THAT MANY MONTHS BACK AND NOT SAY ANTHING. THIS IS CALLED TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A DISABLED PERSON I CAN SEND LEDGER SHOWING THE CHARGES

  Customer response

  05/12/2022

  See Attachment/File: Attachments

  Business response

  06/01/2022

  In response to the above complaint, we offer the following information. Regarding the first complaint about the air conditioning system, complainant opened a work order in our management system for the ** issue late in the evening on ***** 28th, and the service request was sent to our HV** servicing company the following morning. When we followed up with the service provider as to status of repair, we learned that, for some technical but unknown reason, the service provider did not receive the initial work order. Their first knowledge of the repair order was May 4th. After that date, our service provider had issues contacting the tenant to schedule the repair, so we provided our service provider's phone number to tenant to resolve this issue.
  
  The initial visit the service contractor made to the residence was May 9th. The HV** contractor repaired a contactor issue and the unit was functioning appropriately when the technician left the residence. By May 11th, the HV** system began to malfunction again due to a faulty fuse. The replacement fuse was not in stock and had to be ordered so the technician returned to the residence the following day to replace the fuse. On May 13th, the ** system still was not cooling. The technician tried to repair the electrical portion of the unit to keep the system running but was unsuccessful. The HV** system was replaced May 17, 2022.
  
  As Complainant stated in her complaint, she has resided at this residence since November 2018. BHT, LLC purchased this property in September 2020. Assuming the previous owner knew of the tenant's health conditions and concerns, there are no notes from previous owner conveying the same to us. Regardless, it is our common practice to address HV** repairs as soon as possible. As well, a heat wave that occurred in the ********* area during this timeframe exacerbated and compounded an already busy spring HV** season for all HV** contractors. This tenant was aware of the many attempts to fix her unit and was also aware the system is being replace. Instead, she reported this complaint AFTER the technician had attempted several times to repair her unit.
  
  As to the tenant's second complaint about her sewer charges, her current lease stipulates: "In a Single Family Rental Unit, the Tenant is responsible for ALL utilities in the Rental Unit, including but not limited to electricity, water, sewer, gas and trash." After this complaint, we researched further and found that her Section 8 ***************** contract stipulates that the owner is responsible for sewer charges. While her signed lease indicates she is responsible for all utilities, we defer to the Section 8 contract in this situation. With that knowledge, we have applied an adjusted credit to tenant's ledger in the amount of $737.36 leaving her a credit balance of $617.00. This credit also included adjusting the late fees for ***** and May since her account would have been paid in full.
  
  Tenant states in her complaint that we charged her a late fee for "a **** I knew nothing about". I want to be clear and state that the late fees that were previously on the tenant's ledger were not due to her sewer fees; that charge was due to her not paying her portion of ***** rent until ***** 29, 2022, 28 days late.
  
  While tenant might say in her complaint, "This is called taking advantage of a disabled person", I believe our records will show that we have been understanding and have actively tried to help tenant in numerous instances. In the spring of 2021, complainant's portion of her rent became substantially delinquent. Instead of attempting to evict her during that time, our team worked with her to obtain financial assistance to cover her portion of outstanding rent and utility bills and to prepay her portion of rent for more than six months. Furthermore, there is no way we could "take advantage of a disabled person" when we had no knowledge the tenant was disabled.
  
  We believe we have handled the tenant's complaints as timely as we could due to circumstances beyond our control and have addressed her concerns regarding utility fees on her ledger.
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In Dec of 2021 a ****** (local property mgr)contacted me about my balance on my rent, turned out it was not my rent but back payment for MSD sewer bill. This was a new rental company and their communication was lacking. She told me I owed for this bill at the time was over 1500. I explained I had no knowledge of the fee, no one had informed me of this amount from the beginning of my payments? no letter, no email. She mentioned it was in this new portal we were to use for payments, again I expressed, there was no amount stating I owed any other funds other than rent which I had been paying monthly on time. She admitted there was a communication issues and stated she would contact the owner and then have all bills (MSD Sewer) forwarded back to me. (That took 2 weeks) she had mentioned it may be waived or other payment arrangements could be made. I told her I maybe able to make payments if I need to but could not pay it in full. she said she would get back with me. (never happened) found out later she never spoke to anyone. Few months later I could not use the payment portal, was told it was down, still was able to make payment, then next payment it happened again. I reached out and by text I was told due to me owning back rent (MSD Sewer bill) eviction proceeding had started? No letter, no email just told this in a text, asked to speak to someone, never replied, only stated they would send me a statement, (this took 5 days to happen) finally got someone that same day (****) who stated she could not help me due to she was in a different department?? there were 3 and none of them worked together. I then got upset and asked her how this could be happening with no warning. She had no answer, but did say she found the note from ****** (which proved my conversation, (which no owner contact) she stated she would have a (*******) call me about rental assistance, that was 2 weeks ago. Apparently I am not the only one this is happening to. It needs to be fixed ASAP

  Business response

  05/16/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/04/18) */ Complainant has resided in this property since March 2005. This property was purchased by the current owner in January 2020. At the time of purchase, a different management group managed this property. Our management group took over management in January 2021. The lease in place, dated March 2005 states: Lessee agrees to pay for all utilities used at the premises, including but not limited to gas, heat, electricity, sewer and water. The previous management company neglected to charge complainant for sewer charges. In an effort to bring the account current and collect reimbursement for owner, we updated the tenant's ledger with appropriate sewer charges. Based on our research, complainant accesses her tenant portal monthly to pay her rent charges so it is hard to understand why she was unable to see her account balance at that time. Tenant routinely has balance owed on her account and incurs late charges. These additional sewer charges were on her account for six months with no attempt to pay down her balance owed. Furthermore, since the tenant has resided in the property for over 15 years, she must be aware those charges are her responsibility. Since the time of her filing this complaint, tenant has stated she will pay additional monies on her account monthly to pay down her account to which we agreed. We dismissed her eviction case with the Court. Further, we understand the tenant is attempting to receive rental assistance to pay balance owed. From the above information, it seems the tenant is performing her due diligence to keep her account current and we are willing to work with the tenant as necessary.

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