Maine Tenants Win $3.6 Million Settlement After Accusing Landlord of Illegally Raising Rents

A renters tenant union in Portland, ME, has won a $3.6 million settlement from an area landlord who was accused of illegally raising rent, after months of negotiations.The settlement was reached on Sunday between the Trelawny Tenants Union (TTU) and landlord Geoffrey Rice. The terms require Rice to reimburse more than a thousand tenants nearly $3 million in overcharged rent dating to 2020, as well as additional fines.TTU was first formed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as a "mutual aid" group among neighbors, according to the treasurer of TTU, tenant at one of Rice’s buildings, and former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling.The union says it sought to work alongside Rice to keep rent increases and evictions in check during the pandemic. However, the lawsuit claims the landlord repeatedly violated Portland’s Rent Control and Rental Housing Rights ordinance, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.The ordinance caps annual rent increases at 70% of the Greater Boston inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index, with a hard ceiling of 10%.“Passing rent control in Portland was a very significant moment in time where we were just seeing rents go through the roof. It locked eve...