The tenants’ union in Portland, Maine, has reached a $3.6 million settlement with local landlord Geoffrey Rice, who was accused of illegally raising rents, according to a report by Realtor.com.
Trelawny Tenants Union (TTU) and Rice reached the multimillion-dollar settlement on Sunday after years of disputes and 20 hours of mediation. Under the terms, more than 1,000 current and former tenants will be reimbursed for excess rent paid since 2020. The settlement covers nearly $3 million in overcharged rent, as well as additional fines.
A union born in the pandemic
The Trelawny Tenants Union started during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as a ‘mutual aid’ group among neighbours, according to TTU treasurer Ethan Strimling, a tenant in one of Rice’s buildings and a former Portland mayor.
“We never could have done this if it had been one person at a time trying to get Geoffrey to adjust their rent. Because tenants became represented by the union and so many people came to our meetings and participated in audits and actions and lobbied the city council, it has really shown what tenants can do when they come together,” Strimling told Maine Public.TTU’s members wanted to keep rent increases and evictions in check while COVID-19 squeezed household budgets.
Initially, they tried to work with landlord Geoffrey Rice, who owns 19 properties in Portland with more than 300 units. However, that cooperation did not last. Rice repeatedly broke the city’s rent-control ordinance, which took effect on 1 January 2021, multiple reports suggest. The law limits annual rent increases.
The cap is 70% of a regional inflation measure, with a hard ceiling of 10%.
Twenty hours of mediation
The union and Rice had spent years going back and forth in court and before the city’s Rent Board.
Last week, they sat down for 20 hours of mediation and finally reached a deal on Sunday.Under the terms, the landlord must roll rents back to the amounts allowed under the law’s December 2022 compliance standard across all 19 of his buildings. He will also deposit $3.6 million into an escrow account. About $2.86 million of that will reimburse more than 1,000 current and former residents who have paid more than the law allowed since June 2020.“It’s just a really big day for tenants. Really important day for affordability. Hopefully, other landlords will take notice and ensure they are in compliance with the law,” Strimling told the broadcaster.So where does the money go? The union will receive $230,000 to cover past and future costs. The city of Portland will collect a $250,000 fine. Another $260,000 will remain in reserve in case further overcharges come to light.
When calculating refunds, the union found one unit where the rent was $300 a year above the legal limit in 2020. Refunds for that apartment alone will top $24,000, and the amount will be split among several tenants who lived there over the years.
Strimling said the outcome was satisfactory, but implementing it might take time. He believes the $3.6 million will fairly compensate tenants for the amounts they were overcharged.The Portland Tenants Union (PTU) helped mediate the settlement. “We have had multiple cases where tenants are getting refunds in the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in rents they have paid that are not allowed,” PTU co-founder Bradley Davis told the broadcaster.The city council is calling for the rental registration system to be digitised, which would make it easier to flag violations, Davis added.