Colorado to return nearly $1M to former tenants of Four Star Realty

Nearly $1 million will soon be returned to former tenants of Four Star Realty, a Colorado property management company that settled last year with Attorney General Phil Weiser, after a state investigation found multiple instances of the company unlawfully withholding money from its tenants’ security deposits and charging unfair and deceptive fees.

Four Star specializes in managing off-campus housing for students in Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley and Denver, as well as a variety of non-student properties across Colorado.

To be eligible for restitution, a tenant must have moved out of a Four Star property any time between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2023, and had money wrongfully withheld from their security deposit to pay for normal wear and tear such as maintenance, painting, cleaning, rekeying locks, or charged an unlawful move out coordination fee.

“The attorney general’s office is now in receipt of all payments from Four Star Realty,” a representative of the attorney general’s office said to the Post.

“Payments to tenants will be determined by the number and type of claims that the attorney general’s office receives from eligible tenants. Payments may not make the tenant whole, but payments will provide some relief for the harm they experienced.”

The restitution process will begin on Monday, June 2 and requires the attorney general’s office to return $980,000 of the settlement to tenants. On that day, a dedicated webpage will go live, featuring a list of frequently asked questions and an electronic claim form.

The same day, the attorney general’s office will also email approximately 19,500 tenants, inviting them to submit a claim for restitution.

Tenants must submit a claim by Sept. 2, 2025.

Florida resident, Glenn Soechtig, whose daughter lived in three separate properties managed by Four Star in Boulder for college, said they encountered numerous issues such as uncleaned appliances, mold in the showers and several code violations.

“Looking at the price that you’re paying and how the kids were living. It was shocking,” he said.

As a construction company owner, Soechtig said he documented any problems he saw and often had to repair them himself, but despite reporting them, he said Four Star’s communication was “horrible” and that they wouldn’t answer for months.

“What really told me something was going on was when the house that she was in (his daughter) had no lawn, no grass, just concrete parking around it and they tried to charge us an invoice for lawn maintenance for a year.”

“That’s what kind of started setting off the bells with me.”

Soechtig said he started posting on Facebook to find out if other parents and families were facing a similar situation.

What he discovered was an overwhelming number of responses confirming that they were.

Soechtig, along with two other parents, brought their concerns to the Boulder District Attorney, which he said led to the state investigation.

While some reimbursements are expected, Soechtig said many parents may not receive compensation because of the restitution timeframe, the amount of time that has passed and the lack of documentation.

“The kids graduated years ago. We don’t have the paperwork, really, anymore,” he said.

“It’s kind of difficult to come back with all that information when it happened five years ago.”

In addition to paying restitution, the attorney general’s office announced that Four Star must clearly disclose all fees, rent and other costs on lease documents and comply with state utility billing laws.

For three years, starting in 2024, the company must maintain and provide records of property inspections, security deposit withholding and other documentation upon tenant request.

Additionally, Four Star may only withhold security deposit funds for tenant-related damages, must minimize repainting costs for minor damage, ensure carpet cleaning is necessary before charging tenants and may only charge for rekeying if tenants request it and the cost is disclosed upfront.

“Ahead of the Consent Judgement last year, Four Star Realty voluntarily and proactively implemented various remedial measures,” said a Four Star Realty & Property Management spokesperson when asked about the settlement.

“We’ve implemented staff training to improve transparency and consistency in how we handle lease terms, charges, and maintenance requests, including internal seminars and a new Learning Management System (LMS) to track training completion. We’ve also implemented a dedicated security deposit training program for all personnel involved in deposit reconciliations.”