Geoffrey Rice, owner of Trelawny 657 LLC, at a trial in June to evict his tenant and former Portland mayor Ethan Strimling. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Portland landlord Geoffrey Rice has filed a lawsuit against the city arguing that it relied on an “aggressive” and “arbitrary” interpretation of its rent control ordinance when it ordered him to repay tenants $150,000.

The city said Rice had to pay the money after finding that he illegally raised the rents on dozens of units in the Trelawny Building he owns at 655 Congress St.

A tenants union had filed a complaint with the city in April asking that tenants be refunded, that Rice be penalized and that the rent board conduct an audit of all of Rice’s leases. The city notified the tenants union in April that it had initiated that audit.

Since rent control was enacted in 2021, Rice has been issued more than 27 violations and has paid back thousands of dollars to tenants, but he has never been fined by the city.

The city said he increased rents more than once within a 12-month period, increased rents by more than 5% after voluntary turnover and increased annual rent renewals by more than 10%. The rent board is also considering another complaint from the tenants union alleging more than 160 additional violations.

Rice’s filing in Cumberland County District Court is not the first time a Portland landlord has gone to court to fight the city’s decision regarding rent control violations, according to a city attorney. Two of those cases were filed by Rice but were dismissed after he missed filing deadlines, Michael Goldman, the city’s attorney, said.

A third case, filed by PVA Limited Partnership, is still pending, Goldman said.

If the case is decided in Rice’s favor, it could substantially weaken rent control by setting a precedent that landlords do not have to pay back their tenants for illegal rent increases, said Ethan Strimling, Portland’s former mayor and a founder of the Trelawny Tenants Union.

“We are really pleased that the city is taking his violation so seriously and has come down so hard on him,” said Strimling. “We’ve been asking the city to increase their enforcement of rent control and it appears they are taking it very seriously now.”

Rice had tried to evict Strimling from the building in 2021, but Strimling won the case in June after successfully arguing Rice that was retaliating against him for his role in forming the tenants union.

Reached by phone Thursday, an employee of Rice’s said he would not speak about the case. A spokesperson for the city said they do not comment on pending litigation.

Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling looks back and smiles after the jury read its verdict in Strimling’s eviction trial in June. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

‘AGGRESSIVE INTERPRETATION’

Rice’s court filing argues that the rent control ordinance is unclear and that the city is overstepping by ordering him to pay back tenants.

“Nowhere in the rent control ordinance or in any other part of the city’s code is the city authorized to require a landlord or any other person to pay money to a third party and punish them if they do not,” it reads.

He also contends that the ordinance is “too vague to be understood by an ordinary and reasonable person” and that once he was notified that his rent increases were illegal, he reduced rents.

“The language of the ordinance is not clear enough to support this aggressive interpretation,” the filing reads.

Strimling said it’s “within the city’s purview to enforce its own code.”

“If he is confused by this law, we are happy to help him comply,” he said. “We have reached out and offered to help and that offer still stands.”

The lawsuit also claims that no tenants in the units where Rice illegally raised rents have complained.

However, the tenants union, which represents all the tenants in the building, has filed multiple complaints with the city.

“It’s absurd for Mr. Rice to claim the tenants have not been filing complaints that have lead to this,” said Strimling.