Comment on The biggest single-family home landlord in the US is poised to pay $48 million in settlement with FTC

The FTC allegations against Invitation Homes include hidden fees, unfair evictions, and withholding security deposits.Suzanne Kreiter/Getty ImagesInvitation Homes is poised to pay over $48 million in a settlement with the FTC.The FTC allegations included hidden fees, unfair evictions, and withholding deposits.The company has already agreed to pay millions of dollars related to lawsuits in California.The country's largest single-family home rental company is poised to pay more than $48 million as part of a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it deceived and overcharged consumers.The FTC accused the company, Invitation Homes, of a range of illegal practices that took advantage of its tenants, including "deceiving renters about lease costs, charging undisclosed junk fees, failing to inspect homes before residents moved in, and unfairly withholding tenants' security deposits when they moved out," according to an agency press release on Tuesday."Invitation Homes, the nation's largest single-family home landlord, preyed on tenants through a variety of unfair and deceptive tactics, from saddling people with hidden fees and unjustly withholding security deposits to misleading people about eviction policies during the pandemic and even pursuing eviction proceedings after people had moved out," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.To be finalized, the settlement must be approved by a federal judge.The FTC alleged that Invitation Homes, which owns 84,000 properties across the US, didn't include mandatory junk fees — including reservation fees of up to $500 — when advertising monthly rental rates to prospective tenants.