Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  05/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 97 year old mother has been leasing a condo at ******************** at the fountains community in ********** from KeyRenter. My mother very recently completed her lease (paid in full) but moved out because KeyRenter never fixed health and safety violations at the property. We filed a complaint with the Palm Beach *********************** and they inspected the property and formally cited KeyRenter and the owner Shine Rentals (******************************* owner-****************************************************************************). (Documents provided upon request)I have contacted KeyRenter many times inquiring about the return of my mother's $2700 security deposit to no avail. I'm pretty much getting the same treatment on this issue from KeyRenter and *************************** as I've received for years trying to get them to take care of the health and safety issues. My assumption is that my mother and I are being ignored in retaliation for filing a formal complaint with palm beach county codes department and the lengthy and comprehensive list of violations that KeyRenter and ******** were cited for. (Document provided upon request)KeyRenter renter also attempted to charge my mother for an additional month of rent that she didn't owe toward end of her lease. They then almost immediately without really researching the issue sent my 97 year old mother a 3 day eviction letter notice. My elderly mother was very upset and emotionally distraught. KeyRenter finally admitted they made a mistake and backed off from this erroneous charge. (Supporting documents provided upon request)

  Customer response

  06/02/2024

  The following was sent email to keyrenter (3 employees) June 2, 2024. (I provided many photos attachments showing that we've been attempting to get them to fix a host of electrical, plumbing, structural problems for years with no action on their part)

  -------------------------------------------------

  Good afternoon *****************,
  I was very surprised to receive your email concerning the partial return of my mother's security deposit and your inaccurate depiction of the facts. 
  
  
  When my mother rented this unit (4358 Fountains Dr) a few years ago there were many things that were not in good shape but we thought we could get the landlord to get the plumbing, electrical, flooring, etc in safe, healthful and good working condition. 
  We were wrong. Subsequent annual walk-throughs that were were done by keyrenter (*************************-your property mgr) resulted in "total inaction" on the part of keyrenter. What was the point of these annual walk-throughs?
  
  
  Your database of submitting problems and issues turned into a very disingenuous exercise on your part which basically allowed keyrenter to ignore and unilaterally close problems that were never addressed or resolved by keyrenter. How can you close problems without even providing a written response as to why you did nothing?
  I will attach a few examples that will be shared (plus others) with the better business Bureau and our formal complaint.
  
  
  My 97 year old mother has basically lived in this unit by herself for many years. She has been an excellent tenant.
  There is something called "normal wear" which doesn't seem to be taken into account. We had the unit professionally cleaned at a cost of $300 to my mother after she vacated the unit. 
  Actually every week my mother resided in the unit she paid to have it professionally cleaned. 
  Asking my 97 year old mother to repaint the unit, seriously? You mention stain(s) on the ceiling which is obviously a plumbing or rain leak issue from roof or walls. Common problem in the fountains condos due to age of the buildings which normally are addressed by owners working in good faith with their tenants. When you ignore plumbing, electrical, structural, etc and other issues submitted on your problem website and your "annual walk-throughs", that's my mother's problem? Again why were none of these long standing issues addressed after you're annual walk-throughs of the unit?
  
  
  We've been bringing up the worn bedroom carpet for years with your company but it's been ignored like that flimsy screen and front door that never closed properly or the sliding florida doors that never opened or closed safely and properly or the dangerous Florida room flooring, etc. (Florida room was too dangerous to ever be fully utilized-rent was paid each month timely, although parts of condo were not safely usable).
  If you have "any" documentation that refutes my claim that the carpet and flooring was anything but very worn and tiles broken in Florida room then please show receipts or work orders for new carpet and flooring prior to my mother moving in.
  
  
  The fact that you're now sending us the type of pictures that we've been sending you over the years reflecting structural, electrical, leak roof/ceiling plumbing issues makes me wonder if you expected us to hire a building crew to remediate and renovate the unit?
  
  
  Unfortunately my mother timely terminated her lease because of keyrenters failure to maintain the unit in a safe, healthy and secure manner. 
  Hopefully the complaint we filed with the Palm Beach County Codes department,  which resulted in a long list of building codes violations will insure that the owner finally does due diligence and gets the unit upto codes and in safe living and working condition.
  This list of code violations and supporting photos for this property is part of the Palm Beach County Codes violations public record PRR-2024-04497.
  
  
  Unfortunately it could be construed that your failure and lack of willingness to return my mother's security deposit in it's entirety is just retaliation for contacting Palm Beach County Codes Department.
  As I timely notified you in March my mother's forwarding address at the fountains is; **************************************** 
  
  
  (PS-- Incredible that you sent my 97 year old mother a formal notice to vacate, giving her 3 days to leave or she would be forcibly evicted from the unit based on "incorrect" information.) 
  
  
  ******************* on behalf of **********************;
  
  
  

   

  Business response

  11/27/2024

  Hello,

   

  It is very difficult in Property Management to referee disputes between Owners and Tenants. Key Renter property management was not the property manager when ***** moved into the property. We were her property manager when she moved out.

  We followed the owners lead on charging for damages. As far as the three day notice is concerned, there was a non-legal version of a request to pay rent when her last month rent payment was not made in full. Due to not being able to communicate with the tenant, we sent out an email notice. When we reached out to you to discuss these issues, you hung up on us and said never to call you again. As far as the violations for Palm Beach County code. We received a violation for the staircase Needing to be painted. And a broken screen. We take maintenance issues seriously. Tenants use an online portal where they put work orders in to the system. Unfortunately, we did not have any work orders in our system for your unit.  For a long time we worked with ******* daughter, and she would inform us of issues, and we would take care of them immediately.  ***** left at the end of her lease, and there were no issues that we knew of at that time. Her reason for leaving was her lease was expiring and the rent was too high.  

  I'm sorry that you are disappointed in not receiving your full security deposit back. That decision was made by the owner. They handled the move-in with their previous realtor we were not involved. Thank you.

  Customer response

  11/27/2024

  KeyRenter renter and Shine Rentals took 6 months to "untimely" respond to our formal BBB complaint. Our experience with KeyRenter was pretty consistent with the untimely response to this formal BBB complaint, either it was like pulling teeth to get them to fix some things in the rental or they just ignored our written request to fix things altogether. ( supporting documents provided upon request)

  My wife and I attempted on at least one occasion to speak with KeyRenter at their office but they refused to meet with us. 

  My sister got very sick and her communications with KeyRenter were challenging and negative and not helpful to her health condition.

  KeyRenter attempted to raise my mother's rent in violation of law, rule, and regulation (supporting document provided upon request) 

  KeyRenter attempted to charge my mother an additional large amount of money at the end of her lease which she did not owe and eventually keyrenter admitted that they were wrong about the charges, more unprofessionalism and questionable business practices. (Supporting documentation provided upon request)

  We believe that KeyRenter retaining almost all of my 97 year old mother's security deposit was cruel. Sections of the rental were not even safe for somebody to walk around and reside in.

  PCN 00-42-44-27-000-0170

  I would suggest that possible future customers contact PBC codes department and research this very lengthy complaint which pointed out many issues that made the rental unsafe for habitation. We hope after filing the formal complaint that issues which should have been addressed for months and years were finally taken care of so future renters are not physically harmed. 

   

   

   

  Customer response

  11/29/2024

   
  Complaint: 21770858
  
  I am rejecting this response because the response does not accurately reflect out experience with KeyRenter and owner. KeyRenter managed the property and created a database to submit maintenance requests and the majority of maintenance requests were closed without action or response on the part of Keyrenter. The fact that it took 6 months for keyrenter to respond to the BBB complaint speaks volumes to how slow they were in addressing anything that we brought up to their attention. See attachment for case notes which was filed with the county displaying additional notes on the issues at hand. It's fairly obvious from reading the Palm Beach country (attachment) - list of code violations that my mother was living for months/years in an unsafe and unsecure rental.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

  Business response

  01/06/2025

  Hello ***,

   

  We responded to multiple requests for Plumbing, air-conditioning, and other maintenance request that were handled immediately and professionally. 

  There were no maintenance request that were ignored. The only reason you are persisting with creating this narrative is because you were deducted funds from the security deposit.

  Unfortunately, the security deposit move-in and move out were handled by the owner. We were not your Property Manager when your mother moved in. And we have no authority to refund any additional funds to you.

  We wish you the best.

  Customer response

  01/06/2025

   
  Complaint: 21770858
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response is nether accurate or factual. Key renter created an on-line problem database in which it was up to the renter to submit problems and issues. Keyrenter was then in complete and total control of closing these problems whether they were actually resolved or not. Often problems were closed by keyrenter with zero action(s) on the part of keyrenter and no written response as to why the problems were closed. These problems were ultimately never addressed on their database nor were they addressed by the annual walk thru that a member of the keyrenter staff did. These annual walk-throughs amounted to checking a box and nothing being fixed. Problems not addressed and ignored by keyrenter for months and years ultimately resulted in keyrenter deducting thousands of dollars under the guise of not returning the vast majority of my 97 year old mothers security deposit. In addition let me reiterate one of the larger problems never addressed was the entire porch Florida  room unusable due to tree roots pushing up many of the tiles and making the area unsafe. The fact that my mother paid an excessive rent each month to have access to the entire unit which was not the case could be construed by many as ageism and taking unfair advantage of my elderly mother. I do believe that if somebody took the time to read the complaint filed by the tenant with the county they would see how derelict keyrenter and the owner were in managing this property. Our expectation is that the security deposit will need to be returned in full in order for this complaint to be closed and resolved.

  Thank you...

   

   

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

  Business response

  01/07/2025

  Hello ***, Again we disagree with your account of the maintenance at this property. Every maintenance service request we received was completed.

  Thank you 

  Customer response

  01/07/2025

   
  Complaint: 21770858
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  We believe your response to be erroneous. My mother vacated the unit at the end of her lease because it was not a safe and healthy place to live because in our opinion keyrenter and the owner were negligent in addressing long standing issues that only got worse with time. It is our hope that the formal complaint that we filed with palm Beach county codes resulted in keyrenter and the owner finally adequately addressing the long list of formal violations that were documented and cited by the county and ensuring that the unit is finally a safe and healthy place to live for any potential new renter's.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Keyrenter South Florida is denying me a month to month lease conversion after having received approval for it by the ********************** and agreeing in writing to allow it. They are ignoring my requests to send the new lease before the deadline, which is November 30th. They are ignoring my calls and follow up and are pushing me to default on the deadline for an answer, which is November 30th. I am afraid they will leave me without a home by means of ignoring my numerous requests to receive a new lease for signature.

  Customer response

  11/30/2023

  Dear BBB,

  I would like to retrieve this complaint, as the vendor (Keyrenter South Florida) successfully resolved the issue and honored the HOAs directive to honor their decision to allow me to continue renting on a month-to-month conversion. Please inform me any necessary steps to resolve this, moving forward.

  Business response

  12/12/2023

  **** was drunk as usual when she sent the complaint and told me the next day that she did not do it, and  has no recollection of filing a complaint

   

  Please remove it.  

  Customer response

  12/12/2023

  Keyrenter South Florida is harassing me. The owner threatened that if I did not retrieve the complaint, he would cancel my lease.

  He forced me to retrieve it, and after I did, wrote demeaning and disrespectful comments about me as a person. This man said I was drunk. This man, who was forcing me to take ANOTHER one-year lease wrote that I was a drunk. This is harassment, this is SLANDER. I have paid my rent in time, every month for 1 year. I am a victim of harassment, character assasination and RETALIATION.

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My family and l rented a Home at ***************************************************************** from keyrenter between July 2019 until June 30 2023. We did a final walk through of the home on the 30th June,2023,with the homeowner present, they never expressed any concerns other than normal wear and tear which is the landlords responsibility to take care of.We agreed to pay $600 for cleaning as they preferred to clean after they install new carpets. On July 31st, 2023 we get a notice to claim on the security deposit which is $3000 with an additional charge for a total of $7015 which is a total of $10,015. They missed the deadline to claim on the deposit as the 30day notice required by law had elapsed however we went ahead to object to their claim on August 11th which is within 15days. We receive a phone call within two weeks from ***** Keyrenter telling us the landlord will not be chasing up on the $7015 claim if we do not chase up on our deposit. We told him we will be getting back to him. We decided to send a demand letter on the 11th September 2023, we requested for a return of the monies owed which also included our claims for services not rendered during our lease period at the property which is as follows- 5months without a working dishwasher*$50 by 5months = $7500 1month without working Air-conditioning$83.3 by 30=$2500 Total =$10.000 Summary of amount owed $3000- ( $600 for cleaning) plus interests accursed over 4year lease period $10000 for services not tended On tbe 28th September, 2023, a day past the deadline we gave keyrenter and we have not received any response from them and so we filed a complaint today with your organization.

  Business response

  11/27/2024

  Hello,

   

  It is always difficult for a property manager to assign responsibility for damages versus wear and tear after a tenant moves out. It becomes even more difficult when the property manager was not managing the property when the tenant moved in. We need to rely on the owners in those situations.

  KeyRenter was not the property manager when the current tenants moved in. We took on the property with the tenants in place. To dispute what the tenants claimed that the owners did not have any issues, or did not make any comments during the inspection.

  This is from the owners.

   

  Yes, what you received was initiated by us, sent through Keyrenter as they are our Property Manager.
  
  Our house was left in very bad condition. We have spent over $30,000 just to make the house inhabitable for the new tenants and there are still items that are being inspected and fixed.
  
  Over a year ago when an A/C issue was reported and the A/C company came out, we found out that the filters were not being changed and maintained.  You were warned in writing at that time that it was a requirement of the lease to change the filters monthly. At that time, Keyrenter offered ***** an option (for a monthly fee) to receive filters monthly and purchase renters insurance, as required under the lease. That option was declined.  
  
  Then, after vacating the property, the A/C company again came out after we found that the filters were not even covering the A/C handler entrance. The A/C company confirmed that again the filters were not maintained as required. The lack of maintenance of the A/C filters dramatically decreased the efficiency and caused issues with the A/C.  We had to clean the ducts, replace the entire upstairs unit, get mold remediation, and now additionally have to replace or clean the A/C plenum (still awaiting the costs for this).
  
  You were required to vacate the property on time you did not.  
  
  You were required to maintain the cleanliness and condition of the piano the ONE personal item included in the lease to maintain not only did you not maintain the cleanliness, but additionally you broke one of the keys which had to be repaired.  
  
  You were required to do the actions in section 5.1 of your lease upon move out you did not.  
  
  The kitchen cabinets were destroyed in a couple areas, way beyond normal wear and tear.  
  
  We had to completely REPLACE the oven because of the condition that you left it in.  
  
  The wood floors in the downstairs bedroom were destroyed in a couple areas of the room.  
  
  This is definitely not a complete list of the issues that you caused, but this serves as the basis for the claims and charges that have been made against you.  Needless to say this has been an extremely frustrating and difficult time for our family because of the enormous expense that you and your family have caused for us simply because the property was not maintained, even at the most minimum level.

  I have attached an invoice from ****** cooling and heating the air-conditioning company that states that the air-conditioning system was not maintained during the tenants lease. It is clearly stated in the lease. The tenants are responsible to change air-conditioning filters.

  I have attached a noise violation and out of respect for your privacy into stay positive I have chosen not to attach the homeowners association, violation and revocation of your lease. The ********************** rejected your lease renewal, forcing you to leave the property.

  I wish you only the best.
  
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩