Maine landlord agrees $3.6m settlement to repay over 1,000 renters

The settlement requires Geoffrey Rice to correct rents and fund repayments after years of disputes over alleged rent-control violations. It matters because more than 1,000 current and former tenants may recover money they paid above legal limits.

Rice must roll rents back to the amounts allowed under Portland’s December 2022 compliance standard. He must also place $3.6 million in an escrow account. About $2.86 million will reimburse tenants for overcharges since June 2020. The city will receive a fine, while other money covers union costs and a reserve.

The agreement covers all 19 of Rice’s buildings in Portland. The union will receive $230,000, the city will collect a $250,000 fine, and $260,000 will remain available if more overcharges are found. Implementing refunds may take time, but the union expects the settlement to compensate tenants fairly.

More than 1,000 current and former residents are covered by the settlement. They may receive money because the union found that some rents exceeded what Portland’s rent-control law allowed. The refunds cover overcharges dating back to June 2020.

About $2.86 million will reimburse tenants for excess rent. The full escrow deposit is $3.6 million, so the remainder is assigned to other purposes. The union will receive $230,000 for past and future costs, the city will receive a $250,000 fine, and $260,000 will stay in reserve.

The final payments may differ between tenants because they depended on each unit’s rent history and who lived there. In one example, a unit charged $300 above the legal limit in 2020 could generate more than $24,000 in total refunds. Several former tenants will share that amount.

Rent control is a set of rules limiting rent increases. Its purpose is to prevent sudden or excessive increases that can make housing unaffordable for tenants. Portland’s ordinance took effect on January 1, 2021, after tenants had organized during the pandemic.

The Portland rule ties the annual increase to 70% of a regional inflation measure. It also sets a hard maximum of 10%, so an increase cannot exceed that ceiling. The article reports that Rice repeatedly broke the ordinance, leading to disputes before the Rent Board and in court.

The settlement uses Portland’s December 2022 compliance standard to determine the allowed rents. Rice must roll rents back to those amounts in all 19 buildings. The arrangement also creates refunds for tenants who paid more than the law allowed, while a reserve remains for possible additional overcharges.

When a landlord charges above a legal rent limit, tenants pay more than the regulated amount. That increases their housing costs and can reduce money available for other household needs. The article connects these overcharges to refunds and corrected rents, rather than describing broader effects on tenants.

Portland’s rules limited annual increases, but the union alleged that Rice repeatedly violated them. In one unit, the rent was $300 above the legal limit in 2020. Refunds for that apartment are expected to exceed $24,000, divided among several tenants who lived there over the years.

Under the settlement, Rice must roll rents back to the amounts allowed under the December 2022 compliance standard. About $2.86 million will reimburse more than 1,000 current and former residents. A $260,000 reserve will cover possible additional overcharges, so implementation may continue for some time.

The Trelawny Tenants Union, or TTU, is a tenant group formed in Portland during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Neighbours created it as a mutual-aid group while household budgets were under pressure. Its members wanted to keep rent increases and evictions in check.

At first, the group tried to work with landlord Geoffrey Rice, who owns 19 Portland properties with more than 300 units. Cooperation failed, and the union began organizing audits, meetings, actions, and city-council lobbying. Its collective approach let tenants examine rent histories and pursue claims together.

Ethan Strimling, the union’s treasurer and a tenant in one of Rice’s buildings, said one person alone could not have achieved the result. The union’s organizing helped lead to mediation and a $3.6 million settlement. It also showed tenants what collective representation could accomplish, according to Strimling.

Tenants may recover money by documenting overcharges and pursuing claims together or individually. In this case, the Trelawny Tenants Union audited rents, represented tenants, and brought the dispute before Portland’s Rent Board and the courts. The settlement then created a fund for repayments.

The Rent Board and courts provided places for the dispute to be argued over several years. Mediation offered a way to negotiate a final agreement outside continued litigation. After 20 hours of mediation, the union and Rice agreed that rents would be corrected and money placed in escrow.

The escrow account will contain $3.6 million. About $2.86 million is assigned to more than 1,000 current and former residents, while $260,000 remains available for further overcharges. The union will handle implementation, which Strimling said may take time. The Portland Tenants Union also helped mediate the settlement.

Governments regulate rents to help keep housing affordable and prevent increases that households cannot easily absorb. Rent control does not make every rent the same. Instead, it sets rules for how quickly rents may rise. Those rules aim to protect tenants while giving landlords a known framework for operating properties.

Portland’s ordinance limits annual increases to 70% of a regional inflation measure, with a hard ceiling of 10%. That mechanism allows some increases as costs rise, but prevents larger jumps. The article reports that Rice repeatedly violated the ordinance, producing disputes over legal rents and tenant refunds.

The settlement applies the rule across Rice’s 19 buildings. Rents must be rolled back to the December 2022 compliance standard, and overcharged tenants can receive repayments. The city’s $250,000 fine and a reserve for new claims also reinforce compliance, while the union called for stronger digital rental registration.