Invitation Homes is one of the nation’s largest single-family home rental companies, with more than 100,000 rental properties in the U.S., including 7,861 homes in Atlanta as of March 2024. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Invitation Homes must pay a $48 million settlement as restitution for deceptive practices, including misrepresenting home conditions and charging hidden fees to tenants in actions the FTC described as follows:
“Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home landlord, preyed on tenants through a variety of unfair and deceptive tactics…”
After the landmark lawsuit win against Invitation Homes, the FTC’s statement described Invitation Homes as a “Corporate Landlord.” Along with other large real estate investment companies, Invitation Homes quickly purchases single-family homes through cash offers, making it difficult for families seeking homeownership to compete. This practice has a growing adverse impact on those seeking to pursue the American dream of homeownership.
Although rental homes are a crucial aspect of housing in Georgia and elsewhere, property owners have a legal responsibility to regularly inspect their properties, perform regular maintenance, make prompt repairs, and otherwise ensure that their premises are safe for tenants, visitors, repair people, delivery workers, and others who lawfully enter the property. Property owners of rental properties, including large corporate landlords such as Invitation Homes, have a legal obligation to ensure that the homes they rent to tenants are safe and habitable, and in the condition promised when a tenant signs a lease agreement.
The FTC lawsuit and Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaints describe adverse conditions in some Invitation Home properties, including the following:
The BBB lists 1,800 total complaints filed against Invitation Homes in the past three years. Although the company has been cited in multiple complaints and premises liability lawsuits in Atlanta related to unjust business practices, such as hidden “junk fees” and deceitful advertising, the most alarming impacts of poor business practices from Invitation Homes come from the company’s failure to adequately maintain and repair safety hazards, resulting in injuries and illnesses.
When a hazardous condition causes an injury such as a slip-and-fall accident, illness from mold growth, electrocution, ceiling collapse, balcony collapse, staircase injury, or structural fire, the injury victim has the right to seek compensation for their losses through a premises liability lawsuit. Proving liability against corporate entities like Invitation Homes requires substantial evidence demonstrating the following:
Damages in Georgia premises liability lawsuits against Invitation Homes and other landlords include medical expenses, lost earnings, and compensation for pain and suffering. In some premises liability cases, additional compensation may be awarded for catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.
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