ComplaintsforSTL Smart Rentals

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  7/5/2023 I was denied a rental application by STL Rental . My application fee was 35$ I was told I was denied with no explanation , only that it was something on my trans union . I reached out to the company to let me know what it was specifically on my credit report if it was not an eviction , no bankruptcy, no felonies those were the three things that would disqualify me but they fail to mention anything or the reason was denied and Still has not reached out to me or replied to any of my request.

  Business response

  07/18/2023

  Dear *****,
  After reviewing your Screening, it appears that you do have eviction on your record from 2018 and per company policy we weren't able to proceed with the rental process.
  I want to thank you for reaching out and I apologize for the miss satisfaction. 
  Smart Rentals team is wishing you the best with finding your next place.

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I started renting from smart rentals in July of 2022. Within a week of me moving into my apartment I started noticing issues. Our toilet was broken during my apartment tour, they said they would fix it before I moved in and here we are a full year later my toilet lid is still cracked and my toilet bowl floods a couple times a month. I had no hot water for the first two week of living here either even though in our lease it states smart rentals is responsible for water, trash, and sewage even after contacting them via the resident portal and contact them through the office phone, it wasnt until I showed up to the office complaining that they started to listen to my maintenance request. Our roof was also cracked and leaking. It was crack through most of September , smart rentals was notified and quickly came to fix it but then in January our roof cracked and started leaking again In the same spot this time my dad fixed it and hasnt leaked yet. Around November we started noticing an infestation or roaches and mice, both outside the building in the halls and in my apartment. smart rentals was notified and offered and apology and said they would send an exterminator who never showed. And would also claim to do quarterly fumigations because of the ***** problem but I work from home and these fumigators have never once came. Ive never missed a rent payment or payed rent late. I also very clean. My neighbors can vouch for me on that. I also had no control over the temperature of my own apartment. There were times when my apartment was 90 inside and also times When my apartment would get as low as 40 this was because our furnace doesnt have an adjustable ***. Today is June 21, 2023 and I havent had hot water again since Friday, smart rentals has been contacted multiple times and no action has been made. Im angry that I was forced to live in such agonizing conditions because of my legally binding lease. Im requesting if possible 50% of my total rent back.

  Business response

  10/27/2023

  I will attach the ledger. They were not present for the walk, which we do coordinate and ask them to be there to avoid discrepancies. No refund was issued due to the way the unit was left.

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been renting for them for 4 years. I have mold in my basement. My son and I have asthma. I was just diagnosed with M.S. I have to do my own landscaping. They want me to cut trees down. I called off work to do the "landscaping". They told me it was not good enough and the trees need to be gone, they should not be hitting the power lines or the house. I have tried to call and I can't reach them. I have asked for them to paint my basement. I asked if they could paint the walls. I had to pay for the walls to be painted. My ceiling is starting to crack. I have put in work orders (several). There has been radioactive waste in this area.

  Business response

  12/07/2022

  In the lease agreement you signed Section 18 Paragraph 12: SEE BELOW: 

  12. (If in a single-family home,) maintain the exterior of the Premises including but not limited to:
  lawn/grass cutting, snow and ice removal, gutter cleaning, maintenance of bushes and other
  foliage, keep clean the siding and other exterior surfaces, keep fence lines clean from brush and
  overgrowth. Municipal violations shall be charged to Tenant plus the cost of correcting the
  violations plus a $75 administration fee. Tenants who incur more than two (2) violations for grass
  cutting within any eighteen (18) month period will be put on a lawn care rotation and charged the
  cost of the landscaper/grass cutter weekly.It is the tenant's responsibility in a single-family home. The City of Florissant cited you a violation, not Smart Rentals. When the city came out to inspect the second time, they said it was not up to city's requirements. As far as the mold, we do not have any requests mentioning mold problems.
  

  Customer response

  12/07/2022

  Complaint: ********
  I am rejecting this response because:I have emailed more than once about the mold, my health condition as well as my child,  and also included photos. Still no one has even come inside to see the area in person it is now December. I was told to put in ANOTHER work order. No one has visited about the mold but have visited multiple times about the trees to assure they were cut. Landscaping does not mention cutting trees. Trees have been cut by tenant twice to satisfy. Second time completely gone as demanded. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

  Customer response

  12/15/2022

  They are trying to charge me for a job that they did not complete and dumpster that was not utilized for the job. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I rented a short term rental that I had found on ******. The listing was advertised as a private owner, and in good condition. Upon arrival the property was in poor condition that was not at all as they had advertised. I later learned that said private owner was instead an agent for STL Smart Rentals . I am now getting a runaround about getting a full refund.

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  Looking into the account, we accommodated you as needed. Looks like you checked out without canceling your reservation and left the unit vacant without notice for a few weeks. As the *** *** renter you did not follow protocol. 

  Customer response

  03/09/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Per the website if I cancelled the amount to be returned was $0.00. ****** contacted your 3+ times to encourage the cancellation and refund or at the very least a partial refund. The company is aware of this and refused the mediation offer by ******.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  Customer response

  03/10/2022

  o Whom It My Concern:
  
  This documentation is in response to the ****** dispute claim. On February 7th I entered the ****** listing and found the place foul smelling (stale urine), the toilet ran continuously, and filthy dirty. I indicated as much via the ****** app, see images. I was under the impression that I was speaking to both the private host (no association with a company or other property management company) and an ****** representative, as the other 3rd party in the chat was not listed as a co-host and had the title “****** Property Manager – STL Smart Rentals”, see images.
  
  There have been more and more reports of the assaults against women in ****** properties and new measures taken such as the Neighborhood Reporting. I thought this was an ****** representative and part of these measures. As can be seen in the photos ****** advertises becoming a local partner. I thought that is who I was speaking with, and this is not an unreasonable conclusion.
  
  Let me take a moment to point out that this place was advertised as being enhanced cleaned, also documented in the images. We are in the middle of the pandemic, and this was a major motivator in booking. As can be seen in the chat I stayed one night and gave them 24hs to clean the apartment. I reentered on February 11th and two cleaning steps had been taken, a ball of hair had been picked up and trash had been removed windowsill and left everything else. All pictures except for the two highlighted ones (yellow box) are AFTER the cleaning had taken place. The leaking toilet had been “fixed” with a ring of caulk around the base, not properly with the wax seal that sits on the floor. The toilet still ran continuously as water just ran down under the floor tiles and not above. The smell was no better. I left the property, informed the host and who I thought was ****** and requested a refund via the site. I never returned to the rental.
  
  On February 11th I called ****** to figure out what was going on. I was promised by ****** that this would be resolved. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had not been talking to ****** and that there was nothing they could do because of a 24-hour reporting policy. Then then told me the next step was to wait 72 hours for them to call me. This began a night of over 20 phone calls (*** number) see image. Eventually they said their hands were tired, I was at the mercy of the host. They claimed no liability or responsibility for the false advertisement, or anything listed on their site. All said in done I have made over 40 calls and had over 5 cases opened with ******.
  
  As I was trying to understand how this could have happened, I began to investigate the host and the undisclosed third party. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the host, who is indicated as a private owner, see the image of the listing, worked for STL Smart Rentals along with the undisclosed third party. STL Smart Rentals has an alert out with the Better Business Bureau strongly cautioning against doing business with this company. I had no ability to use this information, as I unknowingly entered a business transaction with STL Smart Rentals via the ****** site. The reviews are horrific, vindictive, unethical, and show no regard for the safety of the tenants. I informed ****** of this and said with this new information I did not feel safe entering the property. In the screen shots attached are some of the numerous chats with support trying to get to the bottom of this. Some ****** employees said they would issue the refund if they could, but they had to follow their policy. See photos. This is something I don’t understand, policy is not law, and policies are made to be changed if they do not work. Apparently, ****** does not agree with this assessment and has no regard for the safety of their guest or hosts. They contacted the host multiple times requesting a refund or at the very least a partial refund from the days not used, February 11th onwards. The host declined. If I canceled via the site I got no money, it could be relisted, and I had no
  grounds for a case with ******. ****** has taken no action in the refund or removing the host or property. To this day all are listed as shown in photos.
  
  I then tried to understand how it was possible that disreputable third companies can use ****** as a front and it fell within their policies. I was assured time and time again that the guest had violated no policies. ****** does not require any third-party disclosure and would not require a transparent listing of this host because there was nothing linking them on their platform. Despite the connection on all social media and the company’s website. I even offered to get them something official from a government organization. They feel no need to update or change their policies.
  
  If there is nothing to hide, there is no reason why a host would not admit to an association with a company. Especially since it is ******’s policy that the guest is responsible for investigating the host, see photos. How can a proper investigation be made if the co-hosts and third parties are not made available? This is circular logic.
  I find this alarming, and this makes me fear for my physical safety. ****** has no safety measures in place for their hosts or guests until after an occurrence. All documented in the photos.
  
  Additionally, I received an email 3 days before my check out that my reservation had been cancelled due to this on-going dispute. However, there has even been an acknowledgment of this or the offer to refund the days in which I was formally cancelled. See photo.
  There are additional reasons as to why this transaction should have been cancelled a month ago. The furniture and other furnishings were not as pictured, there is no dedicated workspace as advertised, the neighborhood is not safe (a woman under the influence came out of a rundown building next door when I was parking and yelled at me for parking in “her place” on a public street), I called the city to report the building code violation (toilet) and they said they deal with STL Smart Rentals “routinely” and they are “not reputable”. I have ample more documentation or will furnish more if needed.
  

  
  

  If you want any additional documentation to prove that the unit was not cleaned after giving the opportunity to do so or that the STL Smart Rentals was aware of the dispute with ****** and was contacted for a refund please let me know. I've got it all.
  

  
  Thank you for your time and I look forward to a fair resolution,
  
  ******* ********

  Business response

  10/27/2023

  She needs to take that up with Air BNB because we do not manage the air BNB, some property owners may choose to have them at their properties but that complaint is not with us it is with air bnb. Let me know what other information you need.

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was automatically renewed in October 2021 without my permission. I moved out in December of 2021. I gave written notice via email. I also called just so I could get confirmation and no one answered. I find out this lease is not ending until 2023. Again, I didn't know anything about this and never signed any agreement. I have not lived there for months. This is in regards to *** ***** *** *** ***

  Business response

  03/02/2022

  Looking into your account, we do not see any emails or tasks in our system stating that you would not be renewing your lease. I do however have an email from the other tenants stating that you all would be staying and renewing your lease. 

  Customer response

  03/02/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have not signed anything stating I would like to renew the lease. If the other tenant wanted to then he should have done so with his name and only his name. Not mine. You cannot say I renewed the lease because no I havent
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  ***** ******

*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. ↩