Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

Housing and Homelessness
Your guide to renting in this complicated — and expensive — place.

Single-family housing landlord agrees to pay California cities $20M over unpermitted work claims

An aerial shows a subdivision with two-story homes and tree-lined streets.
Invitation Homes issued a statement Monday about its $20 million settlement with California cities. The company, which features this subdivision in an online orientation video for prospective home renters, admitted no wrongdoing.
(
Screenshot from Invitation Homes intro video on the company website.
)

With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today. 

One of the largest companies buying up and renting out suburban homes has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to a long list of California cities over claims that renovations in their properties were routinely unpermitted.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit against Invitation Homes alleging the company did not acquire necessary permits before upgrading houses in preparation to rent them out to tenants.

Why it matters

As a result of this unsanctioned work, the lawsuit claims, cities lost out on substantial revenue through permitting fees — and the safety of tenants was jeopardized due to potentially faulty renovations.

Support for LAist comes from

“These companies are buying up suburban America,” said Vincent McKnight, one of the attorneys with Sanford Heisler Sharp who brought the case forward. “If they're going to be involved in that business then they need to do it right, do it properly and protect the renters who are going to rent these homes in order to take advantage of a suburban lifestyle.”

Invitation Homes, which walks prospective renters through its maintenance practices and renter responsibilities on its website, issued a news release on Monday admitting no wrongdoing.

“The company has maintained that the complaint was without merit since it was filed,” the statement reads. “However, the company believes reaching this settlement is in the best interest of all its stakeholders and allows the company to better focus on its core business operations.”

How the case began

The case was originally filed in San Diego in 2020 by Blackbird Special Project LLC, a venture fund owned by La Jolla businessman Neil Senturia. Through unrelated work, the plaintiff discovered that a number of renovated properties owned by Invitation Homes appeared to lack permits for various upgrades.

McKnight said extensive research revealed that Invitation Homes properties in more than 30 California cities had apparently undergone unpermitted renovations. The alleged unauthorized work included plumbing and electrical fixes, demolitions and swimming pool upgrades.

Support for LAist comes from

“Permitting fees can range anywhere from a couple hundred bucks to $2,000 or $3,000,” McKnight said. “The cities and the counties are losing a stream of revenue.”

Company has paid to settle previous claims

The settlement agreement still needs to be approved by a judge, a process that could take a few months according to McKnight.

If finalized, the settlement would include payments to cities across California. The city of L.A. would receive about $1.52 million, Riverside would get close to $418,000, and Lancaster would receive close to $338,000, just to name a few of the recipients.

This is not the first time Invitation Homes has found itself in legal trouble over its business practices in Southern California. The company recently agreed to pay $3.7 million over claims it routinely raised rents illegally on California tenants.

At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.

But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.

We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.

Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist