Invitation Homes

A summary of what happened?

Invitation Homes is the largest owner of single-family rental homes in the U.S., managing over 80,000 properties across the country. The company has come under scrutiny and faced legal challenges due to numerous complaints and accusations regarding its business practices, particularly in how it treats its tenants.

Key Concerns and Complaints Against Invitation Homes:

1. Deceptive Fees and Misleading Pricing: One of the biggest issues with Invitation Homes is the way it handles fees. The company has been accused of hiding mandatory fees that significantly increase the cost of rent. These fees, which could total up to $1,700 annually, included charges for services like “smart home technology” and “utility management,” which renters could not opt out of. Many renters reported being misled about the total cost of renting, discovering the true price only after signing leases or moving in. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that Invitation Homes had charged over $18 million in deceptive fees since 2019.
2. Uninhabitable Conditions and Poor Maintenance: Invitation Homes has been criticized for not fulfilling its promises of providing “24/7 emergency maintenance” and conducting proper home inspections before tenants moved in. Many renters reported severe issues such as sewage backups, broken appliances, and rodent infestations. Between 2018 and 2023, tens of thousands of maintenance requests were submitted within the first week of moving into homes, indicating that many properties were in disrepair despite claims of quality assurance inspections.
3. Unfair Rent Increases and Evictions: The company has also been accused of violating rent control laws, particularly in California, where it unlawfully raised rents beyond legal limits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite federal and state eviction moratoriums, Invitation Homes was found to have improperly initiated eviction proceedings, sometimes against tenants who had already moved out. This led to numerous complaints and lawsuits, including a settlement requiring the company to pay millions in refunds and penalties for these unlawful practices.

These issues have led to widespread criticism, legal action, and significant settlements, including a $48 million settlement with the FTC to compensate affected tenants and change its business practices. Critics accuse the company of exploiting tenants through unfair fees, inadequate maintenance, and deceptive leasing practices.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Invitation Homes trying to hide?

Invitation Homes‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Invitation Homes in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Invitation Homes may be trying to remove from the internet –

Here is a comprehensive list of adverse news, allegations, lawsuits, sanctions, complaints, and negative reviews against Invitation Homes:

1. FTC Lawsuit and Settlement (2024)

• Issue: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Invitation Homes, alleging deceptive practices, hidden fees, and misleading advertising about rental rates. The company charged renters “junk fees,” withheld security deposits unfairly, and failed to provide promised maintenance services.
• Outcome: Invitation Homes agreed to a $48 million settlement to refund tenants and stop unlawful practices.
• Source: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)​.

2. Poor Maintenance and Uninhabitable Living Conditions

• Issue: Numerous tenants have complained about the poor conditions of homes managed by Invitation Homes. Many properties were in significant disrepair, with issues such as broken appliances, plumbing problems, rodent infestations, and mold. Tenants also reported that maintenance requests were ignored or delayed for weeks.
• Outcome: The FTC complaint and other legal actions highlighted these issues, forcing the company to improve its maintenance services.
• Source: Federal Trade Commission​

3. Unlawful Rent Increases in California (2024)

• Issue: Invitation Homes was found to have violated California’s Tenant Protection Act (TPA) and price-gouging laws by raising rents unlawfully on approximately 1,900 homes.
• Outcome: The company paid over $2 million in civil penalties and refunded tenants more than $1.68 million for the illegal rent increases.
• Source: California Attorney General’s Office​

4. Unlawful Evictions During COVID-19 Pandemic

• Issue: Despite eviction moratoriums during the COVID-19 pandemic, Invitation Homes continued to pursue evictions, sometimes even after tenants had moved out. They also improperly reported evictions on tenant screening reports.
• Outcome: Invitation Homes faced multiple lawsuits and had to change their eviction practices as part of settlement agreements.
• Source: FTC and other reports​

5. Withholding Security Deposits

• Issue: Invitation Homes has been accused of unfairly withholding tenants’ security deposits, often charging for damages that were pre-existing or due to normal wear and tear.
• Outcome: As part of the $48 million FTC settlement, the company agreed to revise its practices around deposit handling and refund wrongfully withheld amounts to tenants.
• Source: FTC complaint​

6. Hidden Fees in Rental Agreements

• Issue: Tenants reported being hit with unexpected fees that were not disclosed upfront, including mandatory charges for “smart home” services, internet packages, and air filter delivery. These fees increased the actual rental cost beyond what was advertised.
• Outcome: Invitation Homes was required to stop charging undisclosed fees as part of its settlement with the FTC.
• Source: FTC complaint​

7. Excessive Application Fees

• Issue: Invitation Homes charged tenants high non-refundable application fees, sometimes up to $500, which were not properly disclosed in advertising. This practice affected thousands of potential renters.
• Outcome: The company was ordered to refund these fees as part of its settlement with the FTC.
• Source: FTC complaint​

8. Unfair Treatment of Renters

• Issue: Tenants have accused Invitation Homes of engaging in predatory practices, including deceptive eviction threats and charging for services that were not provided.
• Outcome: The company faced various lawsuits and had to adjust its business practices to comply with federal and state regulations.
• Source: Consumer complaints and FTC actions​.

9. Class Action Lawsuits for Overcharging Tenants

• Issue: Invitation Homes has faced class action lawsuits for overcharging tenants on various fees and not disclosing all costs upfront, leading to widespread discontent among renters.
• Outcome: Settlements and ongoing legal actions have forced the company to reimburse affected tenants.
• Source: Various legal filings and reports.

10. Negative Public Reviews and Tenant Dissatisfaction

• Issue: Invitation Homes has consistently received negative reviews online, with tenants complaining about poor customer service, failure to address maintenance requests, and deceptive practices. Many tenants have expressed frustration with the company’s business model, which prioritizes profits over tenant satisfaction.
• Outcome: Public outcry and legal challenges have put pressure on the company to improve its services.
• Source: Tenant reviews on platforms such as Yelp and Google.

These complaints and legal actions have cast a shadow over Invitation Homes, leading to significant financial penalties, public backlash, and scrutiny from regulatory bodies.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Invitation Homes (or actors working on behalf of Invitation Homes), we will inform Invitation Homes of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Invitation Homes may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Invitation Homes, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Invitation Homes to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Invitation Homes made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Invitation Homes is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Invitation Homes

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Invitation Homes Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Invitation Homes used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Invitation Homes could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Invitation Homes have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Invitation Homes is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Invitation Homes creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Invitation Homes either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Invitation Homes, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Invitation Homes is in great company ….

What else is Invitation Homes hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Invitation Homes] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Invitation Homes that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.