Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced a settlement with a national real estate management corporation.
A.R. Building Company allegedly charged illegal application fees to prospective tenants in Rhode Island and the 213-thousand-dollar settlement requires the company to pay more than 98-thousand-dollars to affected consumers nearly 115-thousand to the state.
“We will hold accountable any entity that attempts to take advantage of consumers by implementing illegal barriers to finding a home, a practice made all the more egregious by the fact that we are in the midst of a severe housing crisis,” said Attorney General Neronha. “With this settlement, not only are we returning nearly $100,000 to Rhode Island consumers, we are barring this company from further engaging in behaviors that we allege are illegal and discriminatory. We must make it easier, not harder, for people to obtain safe, affordable housing, and that’s why my Office will continue to hold accountable bad actors who place profits over people. Let this settlement serve as a warning to those who may still be engaging in illegal housing practices; we won’t stand for it, and we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
As part of the settlement, the company is barred from further engaging in behaviors that are alleged to be illegal and discriminatory.
(Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo: YASIN AKGUL / AFP / Getty Images