Renters complain about landlords with thousands of homes in Charlotte area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jason Dhanapalan is a teacher.

Two years ago, he took a job at Garinger High School and moved his family from Beaufort, North Carolina, to northeast Charlotte.

"You just can't jump into buying a house in Charlotte."

So, he didn't.

He went online and found a rental instead for $1,570 per month.

The company which owns it is Invitation Homes.

"We were really desperate to get a quick move-in.

“We saw this late at night and we just said, ‘This is it. We'll take it,'" Dhanapalan said.

But, then, he said the problems started.

He complained about loose floorboards, a leaky roof and a shower that took close to a minute to warm up.

"One day, I came home after work and I found out that the electricity, the water and the gas had been shut off," Dhanapalan said. He called the company but said he had no utilities for three days.

"All the food in the fridge got bad," he said.

Dhanapalan said he bought gallons of water and even used those to bathe.

"It was horrendous,” he said. “It was horrible because we have little kids."

Invitation admits shutting his utilities by mistake, but gave him a $300 credit to make up for it.

A company spokesperson told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke that the company fixed the roof, shower, and floorboards, but Dhanapalan said the business only fixed one of those -- the roof. He had to ask three times before it was fixed.

Invitation is one of the biggest landlords of single-family homes in the country. According to federal filings, it has 3,000 homes in the Charlotte area. It's merging with another giant in the industry, Starwood Waypoint Homes, which has 1,400 in this area. Between the two of them, they have about 80,000 homes nationally.

Federal filings:

• SNI
• INVH

The companies rent single-family houses that tend to be more upscale and in nicer neighborhoods.  Renters in the Charlotte area pay an average of $1,300 to $1,600 per month.

The Better Business Bureau gives Invitation "no rating" because it's investigating complaints against the company.

The BBB gives Waypoint a "D+." 

"Failing to fix things in a timely manner. Failing to address with their renters in a timely manner, even just a lack of communication altogether," BBB's Matt Fehling said about Waypoint.

This Facebook page is dedicated to disgruntled Waypoint and Invitation tenants. They call themselves "victims" and said they're working towards federal and state investigations, lawsuits and news stories.

Bruce Nicholson and Lisa Daspit are going even further.

They're suing Waypoint. They rented a house in Florida and said it had mold and that the company didn't do enough to fix the problem.

"You could smell it. You could see it. You could feel it,, after they told us, 'It's all. You're in the clear,'" Daspit said.

They said their children had respiratory problems because of it, and that one child still does, even after they moved.

"Every morning and every night, she has to take a breathing treatment. And it's gotten to the point where she will do it herself, at 2 years old. No 2-year-old should have to do that," Nicholson said.

Waypoint said it took steps to get rid of the mold, make the home safe and that it let Nicholson and Daspit out of the lease with no penalty.

ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross spoke with Waypoint chief operating officer Charles Young.

"These are homes. And we know in homes there are items that, that go wrong. And we want to be a part of responding quickly to each of those issues," Young said. "We are a part of the neighborhood and, actually, investing in these communities. And that's our mission. We are here to provide quality housing for our residents and we take that responsibility very seriously. We're bringing professionalism, dedicated resources and a lot of energy and desire to service our residents at a high level."

Invitation asked Stoogenke to interview one of its satisfied residents for this report.

The company lined up Shanta Swinton.

She said she's rented her house in northeast Charlotte for three years. She said that anytime she had a problem, the company fixed it quickly and even paid one of her water bills when a leak ran up her tab.  "They've been on point,” she said. “I mean, honestly, I've dealt with other companies where I've rented from -- property managers that didn't address issues adequately and I'm really pleased with what invitation homes has done.”

If you're renting a house:

• Read the lease carefully. See what you are responsible for.
• Pay your rent on time.  If you withhold money out of protest, you could hurt your case.
• Put every communication with your landlord in writing so there's a paper trail.

Cox Media Group