Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/03/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing this complaint because Rainier Properties never gave my roommate and me an itemized list upon our move out on March 31, 2024, and have not returned our security deposit ($500), even though they were legally required to do so within 30 days. Rainier has given me the runaround since the move out date. When my roommate and I vacated the unit (at Kensington Apartments), we should have received an itemized move-out statement within 30 days, and the returned security deposit as the apartment was left in a clean and orderly condition - in the condition that we originally received it. It has now been 5 months since this, and we have still not received any statement or a returned deposit. I have contacted Rainier several times regarding our security deposit, and have not received any clear answers. The responses I have received from Rainier have not addressed my questions or this issue at all. This is very frustrating, I'm expending time and energy on something that should have been automatically done, because this is part of a property management company's job.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/13/2024

  Good afternoon,

   

  I researched this situation and have attached the letter that was sent out.  In addition to the refund that was processed we were also informed later on that our billing company had an error and double posted utilities, which also caused another check to be issued since the utilities were taken from their deposit.    

   

  The accountant just confirmed that none of the checks were cashed and so we can cancel them and reissue them to the resident.  The only amount that was charged against their deposit was for a light fixture and bulb in the amount of $30.  There were emails sent to the residents letting them know that their was a billing error.  There was also an email sent to them letting them know that their deposit was ready for pick up in the office as the first set of checks were also cancelled since they did not receive them.  

   

  I have tried calling today to reach out to them but have not heard back.  My cell number is ************, if you can reach them and have them call me I can figure out the best method for them to receive their deposits.  There are three checks.  Two checks are from the deposit refund split between the two residents and one for the refund of the utilities.  The total amount is $470.00.  

   

  Rainier works very hard to create the best customer service experience possible no matter if someone is moving in or moving out as we know that the key to a successful business is ensuring all of our customers are happy and treated fairly.  We are going to use this in our training classes to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.  Even though we realize this was not intentional or anyone's fault we as the business take these situations seriously.  

   

  I will continue to try and reach out to them but again, if you are able to pass my cell number on to them, we will get them their refunds.  

   

  Thank you for taking time to share this with us and please let me know if you have any further questions. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My apartment required 120 day notice to vacate. I signed a notice to vacate, but was then contacted by the property management group regarding the option to renew my lease if certain conditions were met. I gave them the conditions and they said they would call me back. I told them that I needed contact by a certain date as I would be unable to respond for a month. I was never contacted. I reached out when I was next able and they then informed me that they had sent an email, which although I have gotten emails from them in the past and even recently, I never got and had then rented out my unit. I have attempted to get into contact with them to resolve the issue but they have repeatedly failed to respond to emails, have told me they would call me and never did, and have walked back on their word. Of course I have little to no paper trail as they only seem willing to talk over the phone. They have gone out of their way to avoid responsibility. This is clearly an internal issue as when they first took over the complex I lived in they took 2 months to set up my billing, which time I had to call them over 6 times, being told each time it would be done by tomorrow, or Friday, or Monday. Once it was set up they then threatened me with a 3 day eviction notice if I didn't pay, despite the fact my portal still didn't have what I owed. This is a company which will push off anything they can onto the renter rather than taking responsibility.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2024

  Rainier strives to have good communication with our residents and apologized if anything fell through the cracks with this situation. When Rainier took management of Aspenwood there were already several leases in place. These leases clearly state that a 120 day notice is required which was signed by *****. ***** also put in notice to vacate which allows us to start leasing the unit. Now is a busy time for leasing so the unit was preleased right away. It is typical for us to reach out to residents that have given notice to try to see if there is anything we can do to retain them as a resident. These efforts are typically made over the phone so it is easier to discuss needs and prior issues coming in as the new management company. We do not have any correspondence regarding the notice to vacate retraction but it seems that there are many communications sent to ***** through email and through text message in our system. In fact, since the notice acknowledgement was signed on 3/31 there were 8 text messages and 21 emails sent through our systems for various reason that were all unresponded to. We now have a new manager in that district that started on 7/8/2024 but is tenured with the company if there are pending concerns. He is very responsive and happy to assist. His email is ***********************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2024

  Complaint: 22005087
  
  I am rejecting this response because:It accepts no responsibility on their part. Their employees failure to contact me, regardless if they have been retained, is their responsibility, and has happened with multiple of their employees. I already admitted that I signed my notice, but they are incorrect in their assertion that the option to renew would have been by phone. I never received a call from them regarding me renewing after the call where they asked what I would want done. Instead I was supposed to have received an email which I did not. This is not to say that they did not have my email, as they had and have sent me multiple emails. The failure on the businesses part is their failure to contact me and seemingly an avoidance of having things documented as my emails repeatedly failed to get responses from them. Similarly they also have failed to call me back repeatedly over multiple weeks.
  

  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2024

  Although Rainier would like to find a resolve for the situation, there is no information or documentation that aids in this complaint. As a company it is greatly important to have good communication so your comments will be looked into further with this staff. We apologize if there were emails that were unresponded to prior but we are unable to resolve the past and can only look to the future. If there is something still pending or you are still looking into renewal/transfer options we would be happy to assist with that if possible. ******* ************************************ is a great contact if you have a specific request to make. You can also email the corporate info line as well at ********************************** that is monitored regularly.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2024

  Complaint: 22005087
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have little documentation as, per your last message, most of the communications seem to be by phone. I could provide emails that were left unanswered and call logs showing my reaching out to the company but none of these will likely provide the company with anything that they would consider evidence. As for the solutions I was provided, they were no different from if I had just wanted to move within units managed by ******, and then only those specifically managed by the district I was already in. While I do not expect that they can fix the mistakes they have made in the past, I do expect they could help resolve the problems created by their failure to communicate with their tenant. At this point nothing can be done for me to stay in the unit and I have already signed a lease at a new place, so ****** could help cover the moving expenses I am being forced to undertake due to their failure to communicate with me. This was something that we discussed over the phone but as none of my emails were ever responded to I have little documentation.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am writing this complaint because Rainier Properties have yet to give me an itemized list upon move-out and have not returned my deposit, even though they were legally required to do so early August.I was a resident at one of Rainier's properties (******* Creek) and moved out early July. I maintained the property well and even spent a lot of time and money to get it cleaned and repaired (nail holes in the walls, paint) before leaving. Once moved out, I called the office and was told that they had 30 days before they had to return the deposit. After the 30 days, I called the office and was told that I needed to fill out a form online to process the payment (I had not been told about this form up to that point), and that they payment should reach my account no later than 7 days later. I was also told by one of the managers, *****, that I would receive the full $500 deposit back because I left the unit in good shape. After a week, I had yet to see the payment, so I called back and was told that I needed to check with my bank; the bank said that there were no holds or processing payments. When I called Rainier again, they said that they were having technical issues with their leasing software (Appfolio) and that they couldn't process the payment until the software company fixed it for them. I had asked multiple times that they simply cut me a check, but I was always told that they couldn't do it for one reason or another. The last time I spoke with Rainier was August 28th, when I was told that ***** was unavailable (this was the 3rd time or so that I was told this) and was given a corporate number that did not allow me to speak with anyone. Since then, I have attempted to call Rainier multiple times (during regular business hours), but no one will answer my calls. I have yet to receive my deposit back.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/15/2023

  We have spoken to this resident and resolved his concerns. 
  

  Best, 

  ****************************;

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/24/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed a lease with Rainier Property Management that began on 6/30/2023. I stayed in the apartment for 12 days before noticing evidence of a severe rat infestation. I immediately reported the issue on 7/13 and by 7/14, the rats had fully invaded the premises and I needed to evacuate as they were accessing the apartment from multiple locations. On 7/17, there had been no action and I had been outside of my residence for over 3 days without being able to utilize it. I provided the staff with a written list of grievances as well as letter stating my intent to break the lease if the rat issue is not remedied that the on-site staff signed off on receiving on 7/17. Since 7/17, there has been absolutely no action by the staff. I told them since the apartment is untenable, I will be leaving and expect a full deposit return as they are leasing out units that arent tenable. The previous tenant of this exact unit also left 1 month after moving in so they are aware that the apartment isnt tenable yet they still allowed me to move in. No one has contacted me and when I visit the staff in person, they tell me they will contact me via email or written letter. Im writing this on 7/24 and have not been able to stay in my apartment since 7/14 due to a severe rat infestation that has left me homeless. I paid $1,650 in deposits and $1,515 for one months rent that I was only able to utilize for 14 days of the month. Rats have fully invaded the **** system there and are using the vents to nest and travel as well as 3-4 rats falling down the fireplace daily. It is a health hazard. I have ample video evidence of the rats that I am willing to share if needed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/04/2023

  We responded to this residents' complaints timely and found no evidence of what she is stating.  The person who lived in the unit before moved out quickly for a personal emergency that has nothing to do with a pest problem.  ******* was scheduled to move into another unit and instead demanded to move into this one, at the last minute.  All maintenance requests were responded to.  I have attached the letter we sent to ******* graciously offering to let her break her lease, with no penalties, even though we did not have to do so.   Her deposit will be returned minus any damages, if there are any, which we do not expect, in normal timing.  

  We consider this matter closed and wish her well.

  Best, 

  ***********************

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My AC went out yesterday in this massive heatwave in ****** *****. My apartments do not have a proper emergency maintenance voicemail set up so I cant get anyone on call to help . Its 90 degrees and rising in my house . I have reason to believe they disable the voicemail so they dont have to do any work . Now it is monday june 19 and theyre closed for the holidays putting me out another day with no one to reach .no AC is classified as a maintenance emergency but they refuse to help . neglecting **************** and my pets health

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2023

  We are sorry to hear about your experience during your residency with us and understand the frustration you mustve felt. We do have an emergency maintenance line that is available to all residents for afterhours emergencies. The calls go directly to our on-call maintenance team, which are responded to and addressed accordingly.Disabling our answering service is not an option and we have record of emergency line calls that were received that same weekend from other residents to verify the line was working. Our records show you called our office but selected to leave a voicemail on our general line and not through the emergency line, which is why our maintenance team did not receive them. On the 20th we responded promptly and resolved your service request. Although we understand it mightve been a technical error, we do apologize for the situation

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  02/08/23 I opened a work order to have my AC repaired as it is not working, and it's getting up to and over 80 degrees in my apartment in the evenings. On 02/09/23 at 11:06 AM the work order was canceled and I was informed they would not be working on my AC unit.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2023

  The resident was contacted on 2/9 and informed that the work order was closed out on accident however the high around that time was 66 and raining.  Since that time it has only gotten colder, the very next day the high was 48 degrees.  It would be very unusual for it to get up to 80 degrees in his unit.  We did however open a new workorder and we checked the unit on 2/10 and found that it was too cold for the **** gauges to work so it was impossible for us to tell if it was working.  We went again on 2/13 and charged the unit.  We believe there may be a circulation issue within the apartment due to too many items blocking the airflow.  The Property Manager will be going to check the unit on 2/21 to ensure we understand the issue.  We have been in  communication with this resident and he has indicated he is aware of said communication.  He has spoken to both the Property Manager and a Maintenance worker.  

  I hope that clears this up.  We are happy to help in any way we can

  Best, 

  **************************

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/29/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Through December 23rd - 27th I was left without heating and was unable to reach any manager at the time of need. ***********************' staff reached out to me but after multiple attempts to speak with her I am still being ignored. I have been looking to receive concessions from the apartment complex in accordance with my lease and all attempts at communication have been evaded despite her receiving my emails. Again, I am requesting concessions directly provided by the Regional Manager, ***********************, due to my apartment being without proper heating for days. Her repeated attempts to ignore me are extremely unprofessional and I look to speak directly with her about how she intends to provide a refund for the concessions owed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2023

  Heat has been restored and a credit was added to this resident's account on 12/30 to reimburse the resident for the days without heat.
  
  We understand it is frustrating to not receive an immediate fix, but we did everything in our power for this resident to maintain a comfortable living environment during the time they did not have central heat.The emergency work order was addressed, and resident was provided with space heaters the same day. This was a temporary solution until the parts for the permanent repairs arrived. Once parts arrived, we fixed the unit promptly. The resident was very appreciative of the service maintenance provided.
  
  There was no attempt to ignore this resident. ***************** requests must be submitted through the proper channels. The first emergency call received 12/24 and addressed promptly. The District Manager ********************************* reached out the first day the offices were open after the holidays on 12/27. Again, the maintenance team did everything in their power to temporarily resolve the heat issue and a credit has been added to their account.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 21st, gas was shut off at my apartment, owned by Rainier. After more than 72 hours, management advised us to contact our insurance companies. My USAA policy allowed for a hotel stay. Rainier refuses to tell USAA the reason for the gas leak, which means I am liable for $521.25. USAA, has been trying to reach someone since May 26th, but nobody at Rainier replies. After the repairs were completed, a code compliance officer came to my unit to inspect the apartment. A few hours later, I received a call from Rainier North. *****************, the office manager, said that a code compliance officer had been seen going into my unit, and demanded to know whether I had called him, and what had been discussed. I reported this intimidation attempt to the regional manager via email; I never received a response. Due to my partner and I receiving job offers in another state, I had to terminate my lease early. AJ informed me that I would be liable for a reletting fee of $1,100, as well as the remainder of the rent. However, Rainier has never listed my unit as coming available. My neighbors' units were listed as coming available within a week of them giving notice. Rainier never listed my unit. They are charging me a reletting fee with no intent to actually re-lease the property.I found someone willing to sublet my apartment, but AJ refused to grant *********** I found someone willing to take over my unit on a new lease at an increased rent, but AJ also refused. My lease states that subletting is allowed with permission, but Rainier clearly had no intention of doing that. The clause was included in bad faith. I believe Rainier is acting in retaliation, either for terminating my lease early, or because they believe I called a code compliance officer. Complaints are nearly impossible. If you call the corporate office, you cannot get through unless you know an extension. I have reached out to regional Manager *********************** via email, but she never responds.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2022

  We never like to for any residents of ours to leave with negative experiences and always hope to do better. We take customer service very seriously as a company. To that end we would like to address some of your comments. During the emergency that occurred at oak creek the property manager, regional manager and corporate office did not receive any communication for the insurance company mentioned. We also have no record of you calling or emailing in to ask us to reach out to your insurance company to provide this information. The two emails received on the onsite managers emails were not regarding insurance or the move out questions mentioned. After going through the regional email as well, there are no emails found regarding either situation. We are aware that a code officer was in your unit and we did have the property manager reach out. This phone call was not in any way a demand for information but simply a call to ask if there was anything in the unit that we could take care of for you. The issue at hand had already been resolved and since we had not received any report from the code officer, we wanted to be sure we did not miss anything you needed. The last issue wed like to address is the subletting of your unit. Rainier Management has a no subletting policy across all of our communities that is written into our handbook. The lease contract speaks of subletting but only in the case that the management company decides to allow it. We do work hard to insure we lease vacant units and after checking our system I see yours has already been leased. The unit was leased 10 days after you vacated. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team if you would like further information. You can reach out to the members of the onsite team and corporate office, or you can email **********************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/20/2022

  Complaint: 17417533
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  During the time I was waiting for this response, Rainier chose to send the accelerated rent of $9,672.51 to a collections agency. With collections agency fees, the billed amount is now $9,760.24. However, I received notification from the collections agency on July 16th, 2022, which was BEFORE the required payment deadline of June 21st, 2022. It is not acceptable to send a payment to collections before the deadline. On July 17th, 2022, I filed a complaint with the ************************************* as well as notified the collections agency that this amount had been sent too early.

  In addition, in Rainier's response to this BBB complaint, which they posted on July 18th, 2022, they admit that my unit was leased within 10 days of me moving out. Current Oak Creek tenants have confirmed with me that they see someone moving into my unit. The way that they have behaved is unacceptable. They have put my credit history at risk by attempting to collect the full amount of rent when the unit has already been leased, and they sent it to collections BEFORE the deadline.

   

  I ask that Rainier recall the debt from collections and, as they have already found someone to take over the property, release me from further financial obligation.

   

  I have attached the full documentation of my history with Rainier that has been sent to an attorney.
  

  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/21/2022

  I appreciate Ms. ******** response and I have looked into the matter thoroughly.   She was in fact sent to collections mistakenly and that has been corrected today, copy attached. That should not have happened, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience. 

  In regard to USAA I have checked all of my emails as has *********************** and no one has received any of her requests that she seems to be including as sent emails here.  I have searched my entire inbox and junk, there is nothing from her requesting any information.  I am happy to have someone call USAA and talk to them about the gas outage, we don't have a problem helping her with that.  Now that her unit has been moved into, which just happened this last Monday, her move out will be amended and a new move out disposition will be sent to her.

  We hope this concludes this matter for her.  We are sorry she felt she had to go to such lengths to contact us.  As I have indicated we have not received any of the purported communications from her.  In the future she is welcome to contact me directly at any time

  at *************************************

   

  Best, 

  ***********************
  

  EVP

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/03/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************************