PORTLAND, Maine — Moving into their apartment in Portland’s Woodfords Corner neighborhood was a big step for Bradley Davis and his partner.
"This is our first place together as a relationship and first time without roommates," Davis told NEWS CENTER Maine. "So it really means a lot to us."
It’s an ideal location for the couple and has plenty of space for their elderly cat.
"We planned to stay here for years to come," Davis said.
In March, their landlord Elizabeth Kane emailed them that she was raising the $1,950 rent by $135. It's a 7% increase. But under Portland's rent control law, only a yearly increase of 2% is allowed.
Davis said he went on to discover there was a 22% increase in rent between the previous tenants and his lease. Portland's limit in this situation is 10%.
In an email, Davis expressed his concerns to Kane. She would later send an email saying their lease would not be renewed.
"This came as a huge shock to us," Davis said. "I reached out to the rent board and was told they would be willing to do a hearing on retaliation."
Davis said he also discovered his landlord didn't register the unit with the city.
"Finally, at the end of March and beginning of April, I saw that the registration went through," he said. "Despite all the information was incorrect and it omitted a lot of information, the city accepted that registration. They didn't look into any of the numbers and they didn't charge a late fee."
This month, the board voted to recommend the city to charge Kane a $6,000 fine for retaliating against Davis. The board also says she needs to pay $200 a day until she either offers Davis a rent control-compliant lease, lawfully terminates the lease, or comes to a mutual agreement.
On Wednesday, the board will consider more fines for illegally raising and banking rent, failing to register rental units, and providing wrong information.
However, it will be up to the city whether or not to go through with any of the fines.
"If we were just going out looking for monetary fines, that would be something that would end up in the court system for a long time and take a lot more time in terms of our legal staff," Portland city spokesperson Jessica Grondin said. "We are always seeking compliance. We’re not out to just fine people and serve them with penalties for certain violations."
Davis said his experience has inspired him to take action on the issue so other renters aren't taken advantage of like he says he was.
"There needs to be more on the city, whether that’s actually imposing the fines that the rent board recommends or whether that’s making changes in the front end of their process to prevent these things from happening," Davis said.