The Office of the Attorney General has reached a settlement with a State College landlord accused of levying improper administrative fees and fines on tenants.
Attorney General Bruce Beemer said in a press release that the settlement comes after an investigation of Hendricks Investments and its owner, Rodney Hendricks, by the Bureau of Consumer Protection. The bureau alleged that the fees and fines violated the state’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and the Landlord Tenant Act.
Many of Hendricks’ tenants were Penn State students, according to the OAG, and Hendricks was alleged to have required residents to pay a 15 percent administrative fee on charges assessed against their security deposit. The fee was then allegedly deducted from tenants’ security deposits at the end of a lease.
‘Also, as alleged in the settlement, if the tenant broke any rules or regulations of the lease, Hendricks treated that as a breach of the lease,’ the OAG stated in the release. ‘Despite this assertion, Hendricks allegedly charged fines associated with a number of alleged violations of rules and regulations included in his leases.’
The Bureau of Consumer Protection accused Hendricks of using these practices to keep tenants’ entire security deposits and ‘routinely charge hundreds if not thousands of dollars above and beyond the amount of the security deposit.’
The agreement was filed in Centre County Court by Senior Deputy Attorney General John M. Abel and Deputy Attorney General Jodi L. Zucco as an assurance of voluntary compliance. Under the terms of the settlement, according to the OAG, Hendricks agrees to cease charging administrative fees and fines; pay restitution to eligible individuals; pay $20,000 to the state in costs and $5,000 in civil penalties; and not violate the Consumer Protection Law and Landlord Tenant Act in the future.
Anyone who may have been subject to the alleged business practices by Hendricks should contact the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection by Oct. 21 by calling 1-800-441-2555 or visiting www.attorneygeneral.gov.
Hendricks Investments offers apartments, duplexes and houses for rent in State College and surrounding areas, according to the company’s website.
