Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I rented this apartment on September 2023 until January 2024, the landlord agreed to allow my 60 pounds dog on the apartment under the condition to give him a $2000 Dog Damage deposit and that I agreed to have the carpet professional cleaned after my departure. I agreed, as I was confident my dog will not do any damage, he's 6 y/o, he's well trained and he is my daughter's certified emotional support pet. During my stay there, I never used the bedroom's pocket door as it was just my daughter and me staying, so there was no need to. On Halloween my son came to visit for few hours and tried to close the pocket door to change and realized that it was not moving, so he left it open. Few weeks later, the maintenance people came to resolve an issue in the bathrooms, and I told them about the pocket door. The guy tried to get it out and yanked pretty bad, made a big noise and then he said it came out of the rail and he will tell the landlord about it. Then, an old man came start tearing up all the molding of the frame not even been careful to save it and place the pieces behind the washer machine and said he will need more time for that. I never made a big deal about it, as I was not in need to use the door and I was moving out in few more weeks. Before leaving I cleaned everything in the apartment, including bathrooms, refrigerator, balcony, and closets. I even talked to the cleaning lady the next day as she was checking the apartment and she told me I did a pretty good job cleaning. On 2/4/24 the landlord sent me an invoice for $175 for cleaning and I paid for it. Also, i agreed to pay $250 to professional clean the carpets even when it was not necessary as there were no stains left by my dog. I agreed as a courtesy to any future guest with pet allergies. On Feb 15th I received a check for $1075 with no explanations but "Refund for Deposit for pet damage". When I called to ask they told me they used $1000 from my deposit to replace the pocket door that was damage.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/24/2024

  Since our tenant attached copies of the lease we will defer to those documents as evidence. 

  ***** moved into our property on Sept 15, 2023 and moved out Jan 14, 2024. During this period there was many times we communicated with the tenant. She did point out a couple items that needed attention such as carpet edges that needed tacked down and a small area where wallpaper was separating from the wall. Within the first week of them being at our place her daughter broke the ** in the bedroom she stayed in. We didn't charge her for that as it was an older ** and needed replaced. She never mentioned the pocket doors being broke or the lamp in the guest bedroom being broken either. When my cleaners arrived at the unit they went thru the place looking for any damage as we do in all cases. They immediately noted the broken lamp and pocket doors not working in the guest bedroom. We then notified the tenant of the damages and at this time she mentioned "the doors were already broken when we moved in". I asked why she never reported this damage and she didn't have a good answer. 

  Our repair person had to remove the drywall to fix the door as the framework is behind the wall. Once he replaced the frame and placed the doors back onto the guides he had to replace the removed drywall, blend into the existing wall, and paint it with (2) coats of paint. We really got a great deal on this repair as many companies would have charged over $2000 for this amount of work. While we realize no one ever wants to pay for damages they cause to a rental this is why we have a lease that outlines these things. It clearly states that the tenant is responsible for any physical damage to property. We were very fair with her and found a lower priced contractor for this work so she could save money. There is no reason whatsoever to refund her anything in our opinion. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21314818
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Everything that they are replying is a total lie. My daughter didn't break the *********** screen was broken when we move in, and I reported it the same day. Attached is the screen shot of my text to his assistant, dated 9/16/23 with the picture of the *** The door I never reported because I never used it, and I really don't think that it was broken it was kind of stuck and when I told the maintenance guy, he tried to get it out with his force and damage it pretty bad. Besides, why is he *********** get the money off my pet damage deposit when that is not even related to the pet. The pet damage deposit was to cover any damage cause by the dog. This apartment is extremely old and has a lot of things that are not in good shape. The shower head of one of the bathrooms was spraying all over, shooting water to the ceiling, the ceiling had stains from the water damage, does that means we need to pay for it? The toilet tanks flushed black residue into the toilet bowls because the rubber parts inside were disintegrating. I had to clean the toilets every 3 days; it was so bad. So, he's just taking the tenants deposits to fix and repair the old things in the apartment? Also, they never mentioned me anything about retaining my deposit, or making any repairs, not even show any receipts or invoices that shows where did my deposit go. My brother has a repair and maintenance services company and if I had knowledge this was happening, I would send him just to avoid all the trouble. Attached, you can find screenshots of my text exchange with his assistance about my refund check, and she never mentioned anything about repairs, issues with the apartment or my refund being held. I'm only responsible for the lamp, that it fell from the nightstand one night, and it was so little and cheap, I'm sure it didn't cost more than $20.

  "** law mandates that landlords must return the security deposit 15 days after a tenant moves out. If any deductions are made from the deposit, the landlord must provide a written notice to the tenant within 30 days specifying the reason for the deduction and the amount withheld."  This notice is required by section ***** (3) Florida Statutes. and they must provide receipts and documentation to support the deductions.

  I request at least $500 refund from $1000 that was held. I agreed to pay for a professional carpet cleaning as part of the deal of letting me keep the dog and I have no problem with it, and I can pay for the broken lamp, but I refused to pay for an old door that I didn't use, and I didn't break. This apartment is rented as an Airbnb and there is no way that they could take the deposit from a guest, if this happened under those circumstances.

  Sincerely,
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  Dear BBB, 

  Please keep in mind we own and/or manage over a dozen condos and this is the first complaint we have ever had. 90% of our bookings occur via travel sites, however his tenant asked that we book direct with her to "save costs". If we had booked this via the travel sites we would have filed a claim and they would have dealt with the the tenant's damages. We are a professional corporation and operate as such. For instance our cleaners check for damages thoroughly in each unit when each guest leaves. Prior to ***** staying at our place we checked the entire unit and the door in question worked perfectly, the television was in good working condition, etc.  ***** did notify me that the ** was broken and my staff informed me that the ** was perfectly working when they cleaned. We decided to let that go and did not charge her for the ** as it was older. As for the remainder of items we certainly engaged a lower priced handyman to fix the items that ***** broke and were very fair. To replace an entire pocket door assembly for less than $1000 is a very fair rate. 

  See attachment I placed above that shows we have 7 reviews for this property and they are all 5 star. 

  Regards, 

  Rich

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/03/2024

   
  Complaint: 21314818
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The landlord has failed to provide any written notification of intent to keep Pet Damage Deposit money or invoices of any damage repairs. Proof of damage doors before and after. If I can't prove I didn't damage that door, you can't prove I did it either. How could I ever break that door? It's obviously a matter of old construction, (1981). I have 3 pocket doors in my new house, and they all work perfectly, because they are new. If they work, there is no reason for them to break. I can't even think a scenario of how you can break a door like that. Those apartments are very old and need maintenance and replacement of a lot of items just because they are old. Like the rubber toilet flappers from the toilet tank that were disintegrating every time it's flushed. The wood of the door was probably rotten, and the rails were probably rusted and when the maintenance guy tried to move it, it got completely out of the rail. Did I damage the door? not. Did my dog damage the door? Not. So, why I have to be responsible for $1000 repairs. Also, they will not be able to get anything from all the Airbnb guest staying before me in that apartment, because they have no way to proof that the door was in good conditions before arrival. It's not something that you will be able to catch or check right away. They are taking advantage that I stayed there for 3 months and out of an Airbnb contract to find the perfect opportunity to bill me for something that probably needed to be repair long time ago. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************