PORTLAND — Members of the city’s tenant unions raised their fists in unison Monday in front of the 102-unit Trelawny Building on Congress Street after announcing a $3.6 million settlement with landlord Geoffrey Rice.

The settlement, detailed at a midday news conference, comes after years of rent control violations and legal action between the Trelawny Tenants Union, the city and Rice, who owns 19 residential properties in Portland.

Members of the Trelawny union and the Portland Tenants Union called the settlement monumental for Portland renters, as it ensures that affected tenants will be reimbursed and resolves complaints filed against the embattled landlord.

According to the agreement, Rice will roll back rents across his residential properties to the legally allowable rent charged on Dec. 1, 2022, and a $3.6 million escrow account will be used to pay back tenants all amounts charged above that 2022 rent. It will also be used to pay a $250,000 fine to the city of Portland.

In return, the union has agreed to halt complaints against Rice for past violations. The agreement also signals that Rice, who is in his late 80s, may be preparing to sell some of his properties.

Ethan Strimling, the former Portland mayor and a spokesperson for the Trelawny Tenants Union, said he believes Rice came to the negotiating table because, in order to sell his properties, he needed to clear past violations.

Strimling said the agreement covers all of Rice’s residential properties, which include some 300 units and more than a thousand current and past tenants.

“This has been a long road for all of us, but I am hopeful we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

The agreement lays out that as Rice sells properties, funds will be added to the settlement account. The Trelawny Tenants Union will also hold mortgages on 10 of Rice’s properties to give the union leverage.

Geoffrey Rice, a Portland landlord who owns 19 residential properties in the city, attends a trial in June 2024. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

According to a news release, negotiations on the settlement occurred over the past four months, and were capped by a 20-hour session over two days between the tenants unions, Rice, the city and a mediator.

Jeremy Dean, an attorney for Rice, said Monday that the agreement “provides a process and mechanism that will bring every one of (Rice’s) properties into full compliance” with the city’s rent control ordinance.

“No stone will be left unturned, and Mr. Rice’s tenants are the primary beneficiaries of the process that was agreed upon,” he said. “I’m honored to have been part of this process, and I’m looking forward to seeing it through.”

Ian Jacob, a union member and longtime tenant of Rice’s, thanked Rice for “doing the right thing” for all of his tenants.

Because the city is a party to the agreement, the City Council unanimously supported a resolution affirming the terms Monday night.

Mayor Mark Dion called the settlement a “significant win for tenants of the city.” He said that, while not required, the council resolution acknowledges the settlement as affirming what rent control is supposed to do in the city, as well as recognizing the work done by legal staff in getting the parties through mediation.

A worker repairs the lower facade of the Trelawny Building on Congress Street on Monday. The facade work is nearly complete following a multiyear process that also led to a lawsuit between landlord Geoffrey Rice and the city. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

Giselle Taylor, a member of the tenants union’s mediation team, said the group will audit all properties to determine the amounts owed to each tenant “to ensure they are paid back as fast as possible,” and that reimbursements will come with 10% interest.

The group said it expects almost every tenant across Rice’s properties to get back “hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.”

“When we come together as tenants we will always have so much more power than we have when we’re just alone,” Taylor said. “I’m proud we live in a city that has rent control so the people who work here can afford to live here.”

The Portland Tenants Union has launched a form on its website where current and previous tenants are asked to provide updated information to ensure refunds are properly issued.

Strimling said rents have already been rolled back at the Trelawny Building and 59 State St., a 42-unit building, but the remaining properties will be subject to the coming audit.

The $3.4 million figure was calculated based on the rebates issued from the first two buildings. Strimling said there is a contingency in case it’s not enough, or to reimburse Rice if it’s too much.

City Councilor Wes Pelletier, a former member of the Trelawny Tenants Union, said the settlement establishes a “clear precedent” for these types of violations moving forward after years of trying to hold Rice — and the city — accountable for enforcing the rules, which have been affirmed by voters several times.

“We can’t rely on the city alone, we have to rely on each other to make this stuff happen,” he said.

The news conference occurred Monday in front of the building at 655 Congress St. where facade work is nearly complete following a multiyear process that also led to a lawsuit between Rice and the city.

A lengthy back and forth regarding proposed changes to Portland’s rent control ordinance garnered a tremendous amount of feedback in September when the council passed a resolution calling for several operational changes, including verifying base rents established in 2020 and creating an online rental registration system that flags incorrect or missing rental information.

The Housing and Economic Development Committee is slated to discuss potential ordinance changes Tuesday.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 20 to reflect the City Council’s unanimous passage Monday night of a resolution affirming the terms of the settlement.