Has anyone had a tenant reverse payments through Apartments.com?

[Jasmin Saavedra]

Has anyone else had a tenant successfully reverse rent payments through Apartments.com after disputing them with their bank?

I’m trying to figure out if what happened to me is rare or if other landlords have experienced this.

My tenant paid the security deposit and first month’s rent through Apartments.com, moved into the property, and later had the payments reversed after disputing them with his bank. My attorney said there isn’t much he can do regarding the bank reversals, so I’m trying to prevent this from happening again in the future.

A few questions:

• Was your tenant paying by ACH or by credit/debit card?
• Did Apartments.com tell you why the bank approved the reversal?
• Did you stay with Apartments.com or switch to another rent collection platform?
• If you switched, what do you use now and why?
• Have you found a payment method that’s much harder for tenants to reverse?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and any recommendations.

[Ashish Acharya]

That is a frustrating situation, especially after the tenant had already moved in. I would ask Apartments.com for the complete dispute and reversal documentation, then preserve the lease, payment authorization, move-in records, tenant communications, bank statements, and anything showing that the deposit and rent were legitimately due. I would not assume that switching platforms alone will make future payments impossible to dispute; the documentation and collection process are just as important.

From the tax and bookkeeping side, make sure the security deposit and first month’s rent are recorded separately. A refundable security deposit generally is not rental income unless it is later applied to rent or retained under the lease, while rent is generally reported when received (but most beginner report all the payment as income). If a payment platform later reports the original transaction on a Form 1099-K, the form may show gross payments without subtracting refunds or chargebacks, so the reversal needs to be clearly reconciled in your records.

Also, be careful about treating the reversed rent as a separate bad-debt deduction. Cash-basis landlords generally cannot deduct unpaid rent that was never ultimately included in taxable income.

Happy to connect!