AG Brown secures multi-million-dollar settlement with FPI Management and property owners over deceptive practices targeting low-income seniors

Senior tenants who lived at certain properties managed by FPI will receive compensation and see their properties improved as part of a $7 million settlement between the state of Washington, California-based property management company FPI Management, and the owners of five low-income apartment complexes in Western Washington.

The consent decree resolves allegations FPI and the property owners engaged in unfair and deceptive practices impacting over 1,000 vulnerable senior tenants at the properties and requires them to remedy the alleged violations, pay restitution, and make millions of dollars in capital improvements at their properties.

"Washington renters, particularly seniors with limited incomes, deserve honesty and integrity from their landlords," said Attorney General Nick Brown. "We will continue to enforce the Consumer Protection Act against those who deceive Washingtonians."

FPI and the property owners market their apartment complexes as "low-income" units to tenants who are 55 and older. The property owners participate in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program through which they receive valuable tax credits in exchange for setting aside a certain number of apartment units in their buildings for tenants below a certain income threshold.

The AG's lawsuit filed last year alleged that FPI and the property owners failed to disclose to their low-income senior tenants how their rent would be calculated and increased in the future. The complaint also said FPI misrepresented the quality of their apartment units, the availability and quality of building amenities like pools or fitness areas, and safety at the properties. These practices allegedly violated the Consumer Protection Act.

Many seniors allegedly found themselves paying a significant percentage of their income towards rent in housing they later discovered had substantial defects and lacked adequate security. Seniors are less likely to move units once they're in due to the cost and physical demands of relocating.

Under the consent decree, FPI and the property owners will pay $2.5 million towards restitution for impacted tenants at the five properties identified in the State's lawsuit and to fund future Consumer Protection Act enforcement. The property owners will pay $4.5 million over the next four years in capital expenditures to improve four of the properties at issue in the lawsuit. The property owners will also make repairs and address security issues, inform tenants about how their rent is calculated, train staff, revise policies, replace incorrect advertisements, and inform prospective tenants if community amenities are not functional at the dozens of additional properties they own in Washington.

The consent decree also includes ongoing monitoring that will help ensure that FPI and the owners of the five apartment complexes meet their legal obligations under the consent decree and the Consumer Protection Act.

Read the consent decree here.

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