I was offered contract employment at Atlanta Medical Center, so I looked at an apartment nearby; I liked the apartment, so I completed an pre-lease qualification application for the rental (information to check references, credit, and employment verification). I was supposed to come in the next day (Saturday) to complete the lease paperwork. On Friday after I got home, I was notified that there was a problem with the employment offer and I might not have a job after all. I notified Perennial Properties that I would not be coming in to complete the lease, as there was a problem with the job offer. The Office Staff admits to this call and to its contents.
I worked very hard to resurrect the job offer with Atlanta Medical Center, but on Tuesday morning, they confirmed that the job was no longer available. I called Perennial Properties and confirmed with them that I did not get the job and that I could not move in.
Perennial Properties refused to refund my "reservation fee" on the Oak Knoll Apartment I had wanted to lease, even though I never signed the lease agreement, and even though I could not possibly qualify to be approved for a lease according to these Criteria in their Application for Rental:
"Applicant must have favorable credit history..."
"Applicant's income must be greater than or equal to 3 times the monthly apartment rental rate. If applicant's employment is 'temporary' then applicant must provide proof of income for term of lease."
"Applicant must have favorable rental history for a minimum of one year..."
And concerning refunding the reservation fee and the fee for running the credit check:
"A non-refundable charge of $45 is required for processing the application. Receipt of $300 from the applicant is acknowledged as reservation fee/processing charge. Acceptance of application and any monies deposited herewith are not binding upon Management until application is approved by Management. If approved, said monies shall be applied toward applicant's security deposit. If applicant fails to execute a rental agreement or refuses to occupy premises on agreed upon date, all monies given herewith shall be retained as liquidated damages. If applicant is not approved, all monies given herewith, less non-refundable processing charges (noted above), shall be refunded to applicant within 7-10 business days."
Now, I know Perennial Properties did not confirm my employment, (that's obvious). I also know that Perennial Properties did not check my Rental History, because my previous landlord was my daughter and she never received an inquiry about my rental history. I also doubt Perennial Properties ever ran my credit history, because I immediately let them know there was a problem with my job offer and that I might not be signing a lease, (so why would they spend the money they intended to keep anyway)? If they had run my credit report, they certainly would have asked me to explain a couple of items on the report, errors that finally have been removed, before they would have approved me for a lease.
I believed the original job offer to be concrete and I really wanted this apartment, had the job not dematerialized. Yet, the fact is that no attempts were made by Perennial Properties to qualify me according to the Applicant Criteria, and they only "approved" my application so they could keep my reservation fee.
If this situation were left un-addressed, I believe Perennial Properties would continue to take advantage of others in a similar way, indeed, I see someone else has filed a complaint about them at the Better Business Bureau (http://www.atlanta. BBB.org/common.html? Location=/home/common/www/mis67/report.php&bureau=atlanta&compid=6007665). By posting this information about Perennial Properties' BAD BUSINESS practices, I hope to expose not only their breaking the LETTER of the law, but also their mocking the SPIRIT of the "liquidated damages" clause.
Perennial Properties was not affected in the least by my initiating an application for rental and then immediately notifying them that I would be unable to complete the transaction due to the withdrawal of my job offer. Perennial Properties spent very little time showing me what properties they had available for rent, no more than they would normally spend on a potential renter who chooses not to rent. Moreover, Perennial Properties spent no effort and no money in trying to qualify me for a lease. They _have_ treated my situation, however, with poor judgment, questionable ethics, and downright appalling public relations decisions.
I want my $300 back. Certainly, bad publicity will cost Perennial Properties more than the $300 they are attempting to steal from me.
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