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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a major win for struggling tenants, today the Biden-Harris administration announced that Invitation Homes — the nation’s top corporate landlord for single-family homes — agreed to a $48 million settlement to help refund consumers harmed by the company’s illicit behavior including “deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits when they moved out.”  Government watchdog Accountable.US has previously spotlighted  Invitation Homes’ sordid history of profiteering, junk fees, and abusive tactics designed to force out tenants – noting the company was a prime candidate for the Biden-Harris efforts to combat landlord price-gouging. Under the action taken by the Federal Trade Commission, Invitation Homes will also be required to “clearly disclose its leasing prices, establish policies and procedures to handle security deposit refunds fairly, and stop other unlawful behavior.” 

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The agreement the Biden-Harris administration secured with this shady corporate landlord on behalf of ripped-off tenants sends a strong message to the industry at large: those who price-gouge and illegally abuse families will pay for it. It should make all big corporate landlords think twice about further rent increases or abusive junk fees at the same time they boast hundreds of millions of dollars in extra profits. After engaging in a number of illegal practices designed to squeeze maximum profit from families, the nation’s biggest single-family home landlord stands as a reminder of why getting corporate greed under control is key to solving the affordable housing crisis.”

Accountable.US’ Liz Zelnick

A recent analysis from Accountable.US found: 

  • In July 2022, Invitation Homes—which owned 80,000 homes as of February 2024—was found to have “engaged in abusive tactics to remove tenants from their homes” during the COVID-19 pandemic as reporting found the company had a history of renovating homes without permits, leading to “shoddy repairs and maintenance” putting tenants at risk, as the company raised rents and engaged in “‘fee-stacking‘” to maximize profits.
  • During FY 2023, Invitation Homes saw its net income increase 35% YoY to over $521 million as it acquired 2,877 homes, while its CEO boasted of its “information advantage” that would benefit the company’s potential future acquisitions.
  • Since January 2023, Invitation Homes has paid at least $10.8 million in civil penalties and redress over allegations the company broke California state tenant protection and price-gouging laws and illegally charged “exorbitant” late fees. Meanwhile, tenants across Charlotte, NC protested outside its Charlotte office over living conditions, with one tenant even being forced to start a GoFundMe to help with moving expenses after a rental unit was deemed “uninhabitable” by code enforcement officials.
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