MUNCIE— A Muncie property management company has been accused of misconduct for over a year. Now, the Attorney General’s office has reprimanded the office and ordered them to remediate issues with tenants who filed complaints with their office.
Aja Brown is one of thirty-five tenants that filed a complaint with the AG’s office. She says she's had multiple problems with her unit she was planning on renting from the company in Indianapolis.
"What made it uninhabitable was there was no heat running,” Brown said. “It was January heading into one of the coldest months of the year which is February. It was about 50 degrees in there and it kind of decreased over the weeks. I gave them about 2-3 week to try and remediate the situation and it just never happened. “
Brown says she paid over 500 dollars for a security deposit that says she has yet to get back from the company.
"I already ate the cost but if I can get it back that would be great,” Brown said.
According to the agreement the AG's office made with Middletown Property Management they must do the following to remediate the negligence claims.
- Issue credits and refunds to consumers totaling $35,000 as well as a payment to reimburse the Homeowner Protection Unit for $10,000 in investigative costs.
- Cease the use of the BSU Rentals unregistered trade name on all marketing materials.
- Make affirmative changes to all current and future residential leases requiring reasonable notice prior to entry of leased units by these companies or their agents.
- Cease the use of a “redecoration fee,” which had the effect of charging tenants for a preexisting legal duty to deliver leased units in a safe, clean and livable condition.
- Remove “as-is” language from all the companies’ leases and agree to abide by the landlord obligations found in Ind. Code § 32-31-8-5; and
- Participate in compliance monitoring requiring the companies to issue quarterly reports to the Homeowner Protection Unit for a compliance period of two years running from Sept. 1, 2023, to June 1, 2025.
In their filings to the AG’s office, tenants complained of invasions of their privacy without proper notice, use of a deceptive redecoration fee in place of a security deposit, and repeated failures to deliver units to tenants in a safe, clean and livable condition in compliance with Indiana law.
Stephanie Caudill has been living in an apartment shes been renting from the Middletown Property management for two years. She’s had several issues that have taken months to get resolved or haven’t at all.
"The pictures that they posted online of the apartment that we were supposed to be getting was not anything like what we moved into," Caudill said. “It was dirty it was nasty I had to completely deep clean then entire apartment before we could move anything in. "
Caudill told WRTV that her dishwasher broke and it took the company 6 months to fix it. On top of that, she says her fire detector shorted and caught on fire, which also took months to fix.
"That was a concern for me because I have been in two house fires so not having smoke detectors and I have children here,” Caudill said. “It really concerned me.”
She says she didn't know she could file a complaint with the Attorney Generals office. She hopes there will be some sort of resolution for tenants like her.
"It doesn't seem like they are really taking responsibility they are just trying to pay off and keeping quiet those who have filed against them,” Caudill said. “I don't think that's what's needing to be done. They need to make changes and stick with what they are saying they are going to do."
According to the AG’s office, the only tenants eligible for reimbursement are those who filed consumer complaints with their office prior to the filing of the Assurance. Tenants do not need to do anything to obtain reimbursement. Middletown has 30 days following entry of the Assurance in Order to conduct their own refunds/credits against the settlement amount. Any remaining balance will be paid to the AG’s office for distribution to affected consumers at their discretion and based on a review of the evidence that we received. They expect to be able to notify tenants if they are eligible for a refund in 90 days.
For tenants that didn’t file with the AG’s office, they do have advice. They say if tenants didn’t file a complaint with their office they should consult with a private attorney to determine what remedies may be available to them. They should also file a complaint with the AG’s office for any conduct that is alleged to have arisen after the filing of the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance.
Middletown Property Management sent out the following statement regarding the agreement they came to with the AG’s office:
“Over the last year, we have intently focused on continuous improvement in all aspects of our business. We revamped our systems focused on maintenance, customer communication and selective partnerships. We care deeply about our community and pride ourselves on providing quality service and housing to all.”
