DC is suing real estate tech company Curbio

After its recent RealPage suit, DC’s attorney general is once again making moves in the real estate space — this time closer to home.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a suit Monday against Potomac, Maryland’s Curbio, on the grounds that it’s not delivering on promises to customers. Curbio created a tech platform for home renovation projects, helping homeowners upgrade their homes before selling. But the AG says that it’s violating the Financial Exploitation Act and Consumer Protection Procedures Act by “engaging in a scheme of deception, intimidation, and fraud.”

“Curbio promises to deliver rapid results without any of the stress and hassle that people frequently associate with home improvement projects — but instead, many Curbio projects devolve into a perpetual nightmare from which there is no waking,” the filing reads.

According to Curbio, it’s had over 200 DC customers since 2018, with the majority of projects completed and paid with no issues. Curbio feels that the AG “cherry-picked” a handful of incidents and is not reflective of the company’s overall work.

In an email to Technical.ly, a Curbio spokesperson said the company strongly disagrees with the action from the AG’s office, and that the claims are without merit and paint a false narrative of the company.

The filing lists a number of Curbio contracts with DC residents gone wrong, specifically those involving older Washingtonians. It alleges that the company traps consumers into contracts that strip homeowners of their power in the process, while expectations of time, cost and quality haven’t been met. It also states that Curbio acted as an unlicensed lender for over 100 DC properties.

“Curbio pitches itself as a pre-sale home renovation company that can fix up rundown properties 65% faster than the competition — with no risk, hassle, stress, interest, fees, or payments until the newly repaired home is sold. But the reality is that Curbio utilizes a collection of low-cost subcontractors to deliver an over-priced, low-quality product — after locking consumers into a one-sided contract from which there is no escape,” the filing says.

Curbio has been a largely successful company otherwise in recent years, raising $90 million in 2022 — one of the top raises of 2022.

This lawsuit is reminiscent of one the AG launched earlier this month. On Nov. 1, the AG filed a suit against RealPage and 14 DC apartment landlords, claiming that they collaborated to artificially inflate rental prices in the district. Schwalb said this violated US antitrust laws.

Read the full lawsuit