Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/18/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  We have lived at our address for five years. In the last year, Advantage Property Management (APM) has gone from being somewhat responsive to no longer taking care of their property with us, charging us late fees after rent was already paid on time, and sending us a non-lease renewal notice after we filed a complaint with the city against them.
  
  -We received three separate fees on three separate dates, all posted to our door after we had already paid rent, on time, for the month. We also were required to pay the bill for an appliance, which was never fixed by the contractor and is broken still to this day.
  
  -In September 2022, we reported that our washing machine had stopped working entirely and was full of standing water. Shortly after, our apartment started to develop a terrible smell. They still refused to fix it. We had to file a complaint with the city after they ignored our plea for help for several months. The letter from the city required them to fix the washer and clean the air ducts as they are shooting out filthy air. They did fix the washing machine after 5 months of it being unusable. However, they are still refusing to clean the air system, and I am concerned that we have been breathing unhealthy air since the fires happened near us a few years ago. The city sent the letter out to APM on December 19, 2022.
  
  -On January 20, 2023, thirty-two days after the city complaint was written, APM wrote us a non-lease renewal. We were told by the city inspector we would not lose our home over this complaint, and they are not allowed to retaliate against us. This is clearly them retaliating against us.
  
  -Since we have received this non-lease renewal notice in February 2023, APM has refused to fix anything in the apartment that requires maintenance. Including, but not limited to, broken blinds falling out of the window. Our vents are still pumping out dirty air and dirtying the vents back up quickly, despite us wiping them down constantly.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/19/2023

  To Whom it Concerns,

  
  Please be advised the information included in the complaint
  is inaccurate.  We reserve the right not
  to renew any lease agreement at the end of its lease term and are not required
  to renew any lease agreement.  We issue
  non-renewal lease agreements for various reasons.  This tenant was provided a notice of
  non-renewal in accordance with Colorado Statues and their lease agreement. 
  

  The tenant has not been posted or charged fees that were not
  in accordance with the tenant's lease agreement. This tenant most recently failed
  to pay their rent that was due on May 1, 2023, and they were posted in
  accordance with Colorado Statues.  We
  would be happy to forward a ledger to verify the dates of payments showing
  which were late.  The most recent payment
  was made May 17, 2023, 16 days after it was due, and the owner has now incurred
  Attorney fees. 
  

  The tenant reported the washing machine after several weeks
  of it not working, and only when we inspected the property. The washer and the
  dryer were inspected by a local appliance repair company, which determined
  repair parts were needed, and the washer was drained at that time. The
  technician told the tenants they would need to order parts and not use the
  machine. This information is fully verifiable with the appliance company if
  needed.  Unfortunately, we do not have
  control over the supply chain of appliance parts or parts going on backorder.
  Additionally, Colorado statutes require, and the tenant's lease agreement, both
  allow a landlord to be provided a reasonable amount of time to complete
  repairs. More importantly, this appliance is not a requirement of this tenant's
  lease or any rental standard code and is only provided as a courtesy. Repairs
  or replacements are not required, even though we had contracted a certified
  vendor and ordered parts.  This
  information was given to the tenant and we did make them aware that we are
  waiting for parts that were on order and that once they were received, repairs
  would be made. The tenant failed to notify us they used the machine again, and
  it was filled back with water that would manually have to be drained.
  

  The tenants filed a false claim with the City of Fort
  Collins, stating we failed to make repairs, which was untrue and inaccurate. We
  provided the City Inspector verification that the washer was under the service
  of a certified appliance technician and the notes of their visit, which
  included that the unit had been drained and instructions not to use provided to
  the tenant. We also provided a copy of the tenant's lease that notes no
  requirement for this appliance to be provided or repaired.  All items noted on the inspection report have
  been either clarified with documentation as the lease agreement, or technician
  work notes, or found not to be an issue directly with the City of Fort Collins.
  This includes the claim that the ducts in the property must be cleaned. Please
  note the tenant is responsible in their lease agreement to change the furnace
  filter when dirty.  We have a certified HVAC
  contractor do this twice a year for them also. 
   No requirement of a landlord or
  any rental housing or maintenance code adopted by the City of Fort Collins
  requires a landlord to clean duct systems, and we provided the written code to
  the inspector on this point and verified the heating system was serviced
  annually and that dust on the vent covers in no way shows the system is
  malfunctioning. A certified and licensed heating contractor checked this system
  again on April 6, 2023, and there was no malfunction or issue found at this
  time.  The tenant's claims that we are
  failing to maintain the property are not accurate.
  

  The blinds in the home are not broken but do not tilt fully.  Again, this was only reported when we
  inspected the property, and the tenant was told that as long as they went up
  and down, they were functional, and if the owner wanted to replace them, we
  would let them know.  Blinds or window
  coverings are not a requirement of any rental housing code. This property has
  been fully maintained and habitable for the entirety of the lease term and
  there has not been any maintenance that was not completed in accordance with
  the tenant's lease or rental housing standards. At this time we feel this
  complaint the tenant has filed is unwarranted and has been fully addressed with
  the City of Fort Collins and there was not any item that warranted a filing
  with them or qualified with the Colorado statutes for a property being
  inhabitable.
  

  We are unsure of what resolution the tenant is seeking as
  they stated “refund.”  The tenants
  currently have a balance due on their ledger, as they owe money.

  Thank you for your time,
  Erin Griffin
  Advantage Property Management  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/19/2023

  Complaint: 20076440
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: To Whom it Concerns,
  
  Please be advised the information included in the complaint is inaccurate.  We reserve the right not to renew any lease agreement at the end of its lease term and are not required to renew any lease agreement.  We issue non-renewal lease agreements for various reasons.  This tenant was provided a notice of non-renewal in accordance with Colorado Statues and their lease agreement. 
  
  The tenant has not been posted or charged fees that were not in accordance with the tenant's lease agreement. This tenant most recently failed to pay their rent that was due on May 1, 2023, and they were posted in accordance with Colorado Statues.  We would be happy to forward a ledger to verify the dates of payments showing which were late.  The most recent payment was made May 17, 2023, 16 days after it was due, and the owner has now incurred Attorney fees. 
  
  The tenant reported the washing machine after several weeks of it not working, and only when we inspected the property. The washer and the dryer were inspected by a local appliance repair company, which determined repair parts were needed, and the washer was drained at that time. The technician told the tenants they would need to order parts and not use the machine. This information is fully verifiable with the appliance company if needed.  Unfortunately, we do not have control over the supply chain of appliance parts or parts going on backorder. Additionally, Colorado statutes require, and the tenant's lease agreement, both allow a landlord to be provided a reasonable amount of time to complete repairs. More importantly, this appliance is not a requirement of this tenant's lease or any rental standard code and is only provided as a courtesy. Repairs or replacements are not required, even though we had contracted a certified vendor and ordered parts.  This information was given to the tenant and we did make them aware that we are waiting for parts that were on order and that once they were received, repairs would be made. The tenant failed to notify us they used the machine again, and it was filled back with water that would manually have to be drained.
  
  The tenants filed a false claim with the City of Fort Collins, stating we failed to make repairs, which was untrue and inaccurate. We provided the City Inspector verification that the washer was under the service of a certified appliance technician and the notes of their visit, which included that the unit had been drained and instructions not to use provided to the tenant. We also provided a copy of the tenant's lease that notes no requirement for this appliance to be provided or repaired.  All items noted on the inspection report have been either clarified with documentation as the lease agreement, or technician work notes, or found not to be an issue directly with the City of Fort Collins. This includes the claim that the ducts in the property must be cleaned. Please note the tenant is responsible in their lease agreement to change the furnace filter when dirty.  We have a certified HVAC contractor do this twice a year for them also.   No requirement of a landlord or any rental housing or maintenance code adopted by the City of Fort Collins requires a landlord to clean duct systems, and we provided the written code to the inspector on this point and verified the heating system was serviced annually and that dust on the vent covers in no way shows the system is malfunctioning. A certified and licensed heating contractor checked this system again on April 6, 2023, and there was no malfunction or issue found at this time.  The tenant's claims that we are failing to maintain the property are not accurate.
  
  The blinds in the home are not broken but do not tilt fully.  Again, this was only reported when we inspected the property, and the tenant was told that as long as they went up and down, they were functional, and if the owner wanted to replace them, we would let them know.  Blinds or window coverings are not a requirement of any rental housing code. This property has been fully maintained and habitable for the entirety of the lease term and there has not been any maintenance that was not completed in accordance with the tenant's lease or rental housing standards. At this time we feel this complaint the tenant has filed is unwarranted and has been fully addressed with the City of Fort Collins and there was not any item that warranted a filing with them or qualified with the Colorado statutes for a property being inhabitable.
  
  We are unsure of what resolution the tenant is seeking as they stated “refund.”  The tenants currently have a balance due on their ledger, as they owe money.
  Thank you for your time,
  Erin Griffin
  Advantage Property Management  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  Shea Wolf