Pennsylvania wins lawsuit against State College property management group

The Attorney General’s office recently won a petition against Associated Realty Property Management (ARPM), a State College student housing company.

The state is involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the ARPM. The state says the company added illegal administrative fees that served as an extra at the end of the rental terms and deductions for cleaning costs and fines taken from security deposits unrelated to the actual damage to the apartments. The state also claims that adding these surcharges violates Pennsylvania’s Landlords and Tenants Act and Consumer Protection Act.

ARPM has filed a motion asking the court to rule on two issues in the case. If the court had ruled in favor of the company, the attorney general’s office would have been prevented from moving forward with civil penalties against the company. Either the surcharges would have been declared legal, or the Landlords and Tenants Act declared unconstitutional and vague.

“The last thing students and their families need to worry about during the school year is an illegal and unexplained deduction from a security deposit at the end of a lease,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “We are warning landlords: if you charge these illegal fees, you will have to face us in court.”