Benefit National Property Management

Any repairs that she has requested have been submitted to the owner or the home warranty company the same dayAs you can see by her complaint, many repairs have already been completed with some still existingThe warranty company controls the process of dispatching contractors along with the owner for repairs outside the home warrantyAs of 9/2/16, the warranty company has taken care of additional repairs as requested and noted in an email received from herThe tenant just recently moved in which is why she has not received any utility bills as of the date of this complaint and her move in checklist was emailed to her on 8/25/at 9:18am which is the day before the Revdex.com complaint letter

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] On or about August 25th, I received the move in checklist, a telephone call from the plumber requesting a date to come out and make the repairs and a call from the maintenance technician to replace the tile that he stated had been missing for yearsWhile I find the original request has now been satisfied, there is still the irrigation issue in the front yard that we are working through Regardless, I am still surprised by the lack of professionalism displayed from most of the associates in this business and a bit surprised there was no offer for a hotel stay during the week we were out of hot water.Thank youThank you

Thank you for acknowledging there are no sub meters on the premisesThis is now in direct violation of Senate Bill See attachedEffective 1/1/15, the landlord was required to install sub meters where multi dwellings reside I am requesting a full refund of the water billings for which the Landlord did not accurately bill for or provide invoices for said usage SB Page Date of Hearing: August 13, ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE [redacted] , Chair SB (Wolk) - As Amended: August 8, SENATE VOTE : 27- SUBJECT : Water meters: Multiunit structures SUMMARY : Requires, as of January 1, 2015, that individual water meters, also called submeters, be installed on all new multifamily residential units or mixed commercial and multifamily units and requires that landlords bill residents for the increment of water they useSpecifies landlord and tenant rights and obligationsSpecifically, this bill : 1)Makes findings that the purpose of this bill is to encourage water conservation in multifamily residential buildings while ensuring that practices for water service billing are just, reasonable, and include appropriate safeguards for both landlords and tenants 2)Requires each water purveyor that sells, leases, rents, or furnishes, or delivers water service to a newly constructed multiunit residential structure or newly constructed mixed-use residential and commercial structure for which a water connection is submitted after January 1, to ensure each individual unit be metered or submetered as a pre-condition to new water service 3)Requires the applicant to provide appropriate documentation to the water purveyor identifying the location of the water meters or submeters 4)Prohibits the water purveyor from imposing an additional capacity or connection fee or charge for submeter that is installed by an owner or his or her agent 5)Defines "low-income housing," "billing agent," "landlord," "property," "rental agreement," "renting," "submeter," "water service," and "water purveyor," for the purpose of the statute 6)Exempts low-income housing, student dormitories, long-term SB Page health care facilities, time-share properties, and residential care facilities from the requirement to submeter 7)Requires that meters or submeters conform to state rules and regulations governing devices that weigh and measure and be installed and operated in compliance with specifications for measuring devices and that plumbing fixtures conform to state laws governing habitability of dwellings and water conservation 8)Specifies that water purveyors are not responsible for ensuring compliance with installation, certification, maintenance, and testing of water submeters and associated onsite plumbing 9)Requires a landlord that intends to charge a tenant separately for water service to provide specified disclosures in writing regarding the tenant's billing, testing, and repair rights, among other provisions, in at least 10-point type, prior to executing a rental agreement 10)Prohibits a landlord from separately charging tenants for water service unless the submetering system is installed, operated, and maintained as specified, including easily accessible for the tenant to read 11)Provides that the amount of the water bill shall be calculated by multiplying the water volume as determined by the submeter for the billing period by the rate(s) for the volumetric usage established by the water purveyor for residential use (volumetric use charge) 12)Specifies that the monthly bill for water service may only include four charges: the volumetric use charge; a portion of the fixed charges from the water purveyor divided equally, or by proportion of volumetric use charge, among all property units; a fee for the landlord's billing costs, up to $or 40% of the amount actual billed for water use, whichever is less; and a late fee, if applicable, and as specified under this billProhibits a landlord from imposing any periodic, connection, termination or other fee, however denominated 13)Provides that if a water system in a dwelling unit does not function properly, including plumbing leaks that allow unnecessary water consumption or a malfunction submeter, the SB Page landlord should investigate and, if warranted, repair the condition 14)Requires a landlord who is notified of leaks or other conditions causing water consumption or a submeter reading indicating constant or abwater usage to repair the condition within days or be: a) Restricted to charging the tenant, for the period after the days, $for the month's water use, or actual usage, whichever is less; or, b) Allowed, at the landlord's option, to charge a maximum of cents per day for those days between the two meter readings, or actual usage, whichever is less, if there are meter readings for both before and after the repair; and, c) Prohibited from charging for water usage if the condition is unrectified for months after the investigation 15)Allows the landlord, consistent with current laws governing landlord entry, to access the tenant's unit for purposes of installing, reading, repairing, testing and maintaining a submeter or repairing or testing a water fixture the tenant reports is in need of repair 16)Provides that if a monthly submeter reading is unavailable, the landlord shall advise the tenant and bill at a rate equal to 75% of the tenant's average monthly use based on the three prior monthsIf billing for the three prior months is unavailable, the use charge for days that data is unavailable shall be centsIf readings remain unavailable for six months, the volumetric use charge shall be zero 17)Allows a landlord to impose a late fee of up to $for bills overdue by days and a late fee of up to $if any amount is unpaid after daysAllows a landlord, under specified circumstances, to deduct late bills or bills of tenants who have vacated from the security deposit, as well as other remedies, but prohibits shutting off water from an occupied unit 18)Penalizes a landlord who violates this bill's provisions by allowing the tenant to recover up to three times the amount of actual damages, reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and a civil penalty of one month's rent unless the landlord can show the SB Page violation was in good faith and not part of a pattern and practice of violating the this bill's provisions 19)Allows a city, county, city and county, or district to enforce this bill's provisions 20)Specifies that landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities, as established in this bill, shall apply whenever submeters are in use, including submeters installed as required by this bill; however, does not require units to be retrofit with submeters or affect the billing at units with installed but unused submeters to begin billing in accordance with 21)Does not preclude or preempt ordinances that regulate submetering if they were adopted prior to January 1, 22)Does not prohibit a water purveyor, city, county, or other local agency from adopting and implementing its own submetering program as long as such program is at least as stringent and the requirements of this bill 23)Provides that the rights and obligations provided by this bill may not be waived and any waiver is void EXISTING LAW 1)Requires urban water suppliers, that do not get water from the federal Central Valley Project to install water meters on all municipal and industrial service connections and to charge each customer based on actual volume of water delivered 2)Each water corporation with or more service connections that is not already subject to water metering requirements under the existing Water Measurement Law must currently install a water meter on each new service connection and must retrofit each unmetered service connection by January 1, 3)Authorizes Building Standards Commission (BSC) to approve and adopt building standardsEvery three years a building standards rulemaking is undertaken to revise and update the California Building Standards Code (Title of the California Code of Regulations) 4)Provides that the Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) SB Page within the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) has general enforcement supervision of the laws relating to weights and measures and measuring devices, and provides for the enforcement of those laws and the inspection and testing of measuring devices in each county by the county sealer FISCAL EFFECT : None COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to promote water conservation by making tenants in multiunit buildings aware of, and billed in accordance with, their water usage As the Pacific Institute highlighted in the report Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California, water conservation is the largest, least expensive, and most environmentally sound source of water to meet California's future needsThe installation of water meters on multiunit residential and mixed use commercial buildings has been shown to encourage increased conservation by making homeowners, business owners, or renters aware of the amount of water they are utilizingConceptually, this legislation is similar to a draft ordinance requiring submetering that was adopted by the City of San Diego on April 5, San Diego adopted its ordinance after a report from the City of San Diego Office of the Independent Budget Analyst found that multifamily units comprised 44% of the total housing in San Diego, the trend was increasing, and multifamily properties achieved a 15% to 39% water savings when submetered This bill would require installation of water submeters in all newly constructed multi-residential dwellings, for which an application for water connect is received, after January 1, This bill is prospective and does not require an owner of an existing multifamily dwelling to install submeters, retrofit existing submeters, or use existing submeters that are currently unused Supporting arguments : The author states that the California water supply is under intense pressure and that to "make environmentally and economically responsible choices, Californians must have accurate information about their water usage and cost" so that they can "use existing supplies as efficiently as possible." The author advises that 46% of Californians live in multi-family housing but for 80% of those tenants there is no correlation between water use and cost SB Page because the cost of water is included with the cost of rent, charged as a flat fee, or allocated some other way based on a master meterOther supporters add that this "important bill includes several consumer and tenant protections" and by requiring the landlord to charge residents for water service based on the actual volume of water it "establishes a pure pass-through system for water costs" and "promotes increased water conservation." Supporters state that water metering and volumetric pricing are essential tools towards a secure and reliable water future in California Opposing arguments : Opponents to the bill state that they support the goal of encouraging water conservation but that "the bill does not provide just and reasonable practices for landlords" and "seems to only target landlords for liability and penalties." For example, opponents advise that they are concerned that the cap on the amount that can be charged for late fees means landlords lack any effective remedy in the bill to compel payment of the water bill whereas penalties against landlords for errors in billing or faulty meters are excessive Opponents maintain that the bill places "unnecessary burdens on both property owners and utility billing companies" by, in some cases, asking "for information that simply does not exist." In addition, opponents are concerned that there may be an inadequate supply of water meters even though the bill mandates their installation prior to water service This bill was heard in Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on July 3, Previous legislation : AB (***) of was substantially similar to this bill but did not include the administrative fee that is in this bill Two other previous attempts to introduce submetering, AB (***), AB (***) and AB (***), failed because of, among other concerns, potential impacts to low income tenants Those concerns are resolved in this bill REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (sponsor) Natural Resources Defense Council (sponsor) SB Page The Western Center on Law and Poverty (sponsor) California Advocacy Committee of the U.SGreen Building Council California American Water California League of Conservation Voters California Municipal Utilities Association California State Association of Electrical Workers California State Pipe Trades Council California Water Association Clean Water Action Contra Costa Water District (if amended) County of Los Angeles East Bay Municipal Utility District Environmental Defense Fund Environmental Health Coalition Housing Long Beach Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles Long Beach Water Department Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (if amended) Planning and Conservation League San Diego County Water Authority Santa Clara Valley Water District Sierra Club California Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Sonoma County Water Agency Western State Council of Sheet Metal Workers Opposition Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (unless amended) Apartment Association of Orange County (unless amended) Apartment Association, California Southern Cities (unless amended) California Apartment Association (unless amended) East Bay Rental Housing Association (unless amended) El Dorado Irrigation District (unless amended) Nor Cal Rental Property Association (unless amended) San Diego County Apartment Association (unless amended) Santa Barbara Rental Property Association (unless amended) Utility Conservation Coalition (unless amended) Utility Management and Conservation Association (unless amended) Analysis Prepared by : [redacted] / W., P& W/ ###-###-#### SB Page

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 8, 2016/07/20) */ We have been in contact with Mr [redacted] and the owner regarding his deposit deduction many times with no resolution or agreement from the ownerThe pet urine damage caused by Mr [redacted] cats has costs the owner additional expenses to try and rectify the urine smell along with many complaints about the urine smell from the new tenantNo civil codes have been violated or deductions made in bad faithThe owner is not willing to negotiate any further and we are willing to settle this in small claims court as the last course of action Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 10, 2016/07/21) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) While Benefit National has responded to all of my correspondence, no effort at resolutions have been made by the management companyI have made numerous requests for the return of our security deposit that has been unlawfully withheldMy claim that these securities have been withheld in bad faith has been substantiated by California Civil Code and Mr [redacted] has refused to acknowledge his company's wrongdoing The alleged pet urine damage was never supported with any photographic proof of stainingThe only stain in question had been in the residence prior to my family even occupying the property The bad faith deduction was for "carpet replacement" even though the carpet is beyond the serviceable life of the carpetThe carpet in question had been in the property long before the owners even took ownership of said property (in excess of five years)Additionally, the owners nor Benefit National could provide proof of purchase or warranty information on the carpetBecause of all this, we are not responsible for carpet replacement If the pet damage was so bad, why was there zero mention or annotation of it during the pre move out inspection or even the final move out inspection? There is a reason why Benefit National has such poor Yelp! reviews, stay clear of this property management company, zero ethics and extremely poor customer service Final Consumer Response / [redacted] (4200, 14, 2016/07/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Unfortunately, I know that we were legally bound by paragraph of our contract for the ridiculous $commission charge, even though your broker, [redacted] , met the new tenant at our residence and left my wife and I to finish showing the property after she leftTherefore, legally, we only stand to be reimbursed $of our security deposit that was withheld by Benefit NationalEven though I believe I have interpreted the previously cited California Civil Code accurately (and been reassured by legal council) it is not worth the risk of being responsible of court costs in the event the presiding judge interprets the law differently [redacted] , and his associates at Benefit National, have not conducted themselves as professionals nor in an ethical mannerWe were charged for alleged "damages" that were never annotated of brought up at any point during our residency or the final move out inspectionThese damages did not occur until after the new tenant had singed their lease agreement and taken possession of the property in question My wife and I were ideal tenants that took exceptional care of this property and only filed three complaints in five years regarding issues any homeowner would be required to addressBenefit National's response to these were that I as the tenant was responsible and the following year's rental agreement was amended to highlight the appliance or issue as the tenants responsibility To all those that read this: avoid this company at all costs Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 12, 2016/07/22) */ No further resolution is available via email or the Revdex.comWe have already communicated this to Mr [redacted] several times that we are ready to let a judge decide this caseWe would be happy to provide anyone details regarding Mr [redacted] accusations