AUGUSTA (AP) – A Portland-based property management company has agreed to stop automatically charging early termination fees when tenants leave an apartment before a lease is up.
According to Maine’s attorney general, Port Property Management typically charged tenants early departure fees of $600, even if it immediately re-rented the apartment. Attorney General Steve Rowe says automatic early termination fees can be illegal under Maine law if a landlord immediately finds a new tenant.
Under a court-ordered consent decree, Port Property Management also agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty and to refund money to tenants who were improperly charged early termination fees.
Port Property Management, which manages more than 700 apartments in Portland and South Portland, did not admit to any wrongdoing.
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