From the Office of the Attorney General (OAG):

“Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today filed a lawsuit against Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., and its subsidiaries Mid-America Apartments, L.P., and Post 1499 Massachusetts, LLC (collectively, “MAA”), the owners and managers of a large apartment building in Ward 2, for charging junk fees and hiding the true cost of rent from prospective tenants.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that MAA overcharged tenants and violated DC law by assessing a variety of illegal fees, including mandatory monthly fees for basic services that, as a matter of law, are already included in rent, like common area maintenance. In its lawsuit, OAG also details how MAA misled tenants searching for housing by advertising deceptively low “starting at” prices that did not include mandatory fees and were therefore not actually available to anyone.

“The rent you see advertised should be the rent you pay,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “MAA has been nickel-and-diming DC tenants with illegal hidden fees and concealing the true price of leasing their apartments. DC housing is already too expensive, and my office is putting an end to practices that prey on tenants and those looking for clear, reliable information when searching for a place to live.”

MAA is a Tennessee-based real estate investment trust that owns and operates more than 300 rental apartment complexes across 16 states and the District of Columbia. In the District, MAA owns and manages a 269-unit apartment building located at 1499 Massachusetts Avenue NW. (more…)