Protect yourself first

This is general information, not legal advice.

Before you file anything, these are the steps that stop further loss. Filing recovers the past; these protect what's next.

1. Stop rent going to Dwellings

• Contact your tenant in writing and tell them not to pay Dwellings.
• Terminate your management agreement in writing for material breach.
• Then either sign a new manager or manage the property yourself.

Owners have done both; several used a written addendum to the existing lease changing only the manager, rather than signing a whole new lease.

2. Preserve your records

The AppFolio owner portal is now offline.

• If you already exported your management agreement, ledgers, owner statements, work orders and inspection reports — save copies in two places and keep them safe.
• If you did not, you have lost direct access. Reconstruct the money trail from: your bank records (the deposits Dwellings used to make to you, and the date they stopped); your management agreement; your emails; and your tenants' payment records.

Gaps in the record are themselves worth documenting.

3. Rekey the locks

Dwellings held spare keys, and owners report they were labeled with owner names and property addresses. Owners have rekeyed for around $10 doing it themselves, or mailed the tenant a new handle and deadbolt — usually cheaper than a mobile locksmith call-out.

4. Check your Seattle rental registration (RRIO)

Several owners have found their Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance registration was never filed or never renewed. The registration is the owner's legal obligation, not the manager's, so the exposure lands on you. Check at seattle.gov/rrio. While you're there, change the address on the record from Dwellings' to your own so renewal notices reach you — the reminder goes out two months before expiry.

5. Ask your tenant about reversing recent payments

This is a newer route and worth asking about early, because the odds fall as time passes. How a tenant paid matters: card payments may be disputable through the card issuer, and some tenants have had their banks open a review on an ACH transfer. Your tenant has to initiate this with their own bank or issuer — you cannot do it for them. Ask them to check how they paid and to call their bank.

Once you've protected what's next, see How to file your complaints and claims to pursue what you're owed.