Does Flagging CitiApartments Listings Hurt Innocent Rental Agents?

Boohoo rental agents. It seems like by flagging, it's helping to protect people who could be ripped off by CitiApartments. On the other hand, if it's forcing the listers to go stealth, it's going to get harder to suss out and flag.

I must be biased, since I'm the one who wrote the email with the names of rental agents who had stopped listing CitiApartments in their craigslist posts. I feel for the rental agents who are hurt by this situation in the same way that I feel for the employee whose job it is to handle tenants who are getting the run around about their security deposits. Whenever I spoke to her, she sounded so depressed that I found myself feeling terrible for her. It's an awful job, just like trying to fill the quickly increasing vacancies in CitiApartments buildings in the current rental market must be - particularly with all of these stories coming out and tenants likely beginning to avoid the company altogether.

CitiApartments has had a bad reputation for a long time. But to be perfectly honest, they've managed to survive this long not only because of a real estate bubble in San Francisco, but also because in the past their victims have been generally older tenants from a different socioeconomic background, who likely had fewer resources at their disposal to fight Now their actions are having an effect on more technologically-minded former tenants who are using means such as Craigslist flagging to quickly have an effect on CitiApartments' bottom line (which was already well beyond shaky).

At this point, it is becoming clear that this company is about to topple at any moment. Hastening this process by flagging craigslist posts that mention deposits that we now know are very unlikely to be returned may hurt these employees in the very near short term. However, if flagging the posts gets the employees to leave more quickly, this could actually be a good thing. At the end of the day, CitiApartments is about to go under anyway, and these employees will have to look for new jobs. The company bought real estate at the top of the market and paid too much for it, and is now liable for $1 billion in loans, when the real estate they own is likely worth nowhere near that.

I just don't see how flagging craigslist posts is hurting these employees any more than the company's inevitable bankruptcy will.

TS for the "rental agents." they are representing a company that lies, cheats and steals. If you represent jerks, you get the fallout that goes with it.

And in the interest of Advancing The Internet I'm totally not using the most obvious play on words regarding CitiApartments' name.

So the first thing that we want to make clear: if you are in a CitiApartments Building which has been foreclosed upon, your security deposits are still safe.Your new landlord is liable for all claims against the old landlord when they assume responsibility for the building. Further, if your building is still owned by CitiApartments, then they remain liable for all security deposits. We encourage all tenants to read California Civil Code section 1950.5, which applies to all tenants within the state.

The most important provisions of this code include: Your landlord is always liable for your security deposit. Any money given to your landlord at move-in aside from first month's rent and a credit check fee is considered to be a security deposit. When you give possession of your unit back to your landlord, then you must get your deposit back within 21 calendar days or copies of receipts for repairs deducted from the security deposit. If the landlord withholds your security deposit beyond 21 days in bad faith, then you can sue your landlord for your security deposit and punitive damages.

Further, under San Francisco Administrative Code section 49.2 your security deposit accrues interest at a rate determined by the San Francisco Residential Rental Stabilization and Arbitration Board every year. This security deposit must be paid to you by your landlord every year for ALL funds of yours that he is holding, including last month's rent and illegal deposits such as "pet deposits" and "cleaning deposits."

Second, even if your apartment changes hands, rent control still applies to your apartment. Any rights that you had while living under CitiApartments, you have under your new landlord. AND REMEMBER: YOU NEVER HAVE TO SIGN ANOTHER LEASE THAT IS NOT IDENTICAL TO YOUR ORIGINAL LEASE.

Finally, under San Francisco Rent and Eviction Control your tenancy can only be ended for one of 14 just causes.You can review these reasons by looking at San Francisco Administrative Code Section 37.9. However, even if you do not read these codes please know that FORECLOSURE IS NOT A CAUSE FOR EVICTION. If your building has been foreclosed upon, you have every right within San Francisco to continue living there.

Please note: This advice only applies to those buildings which fall under the rent control ordinance.These buildings are any building built on or before June 1979. We do not hold ourselves out to be lawyers, and if you require representation--which most people won't-- we can recommend attorneys who represent tenants only for you to meet. If you would like to meet with a counselor please come see us!.