First published 3 Nov 2026, 11:00am
A group of Philadelphia renters has reached a settlement in one of the largest per-tenant recovery class action suits in the city’s rental law history.
A preliminary approval of the settlement, which requires Odin Properties LLC to provide the tenants at Bentley Manor apartments with rent forgiveness and refunds for wrongly collected rent, was finalised by a Philadelphia judge last week, Realtor reports.
The aggregate settlement amount exceeds $US140,000 ($A200,000), and individual renters will receive varying amounts based on their payment history, with the average refund estimated at about $US1,200 ($A1,700).
Three residents of Bentley Manor, located in West Oak Lane, filed a class-action suit in March 2025 against Odin Properties and related companies for allegedly illegally collecting rent after the building was designated “unsafe” by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L & I), according to The Public Interest Law Center.
Philadelphia law prohibits a landlord from collecting rent if a serious L & I violation if not corrected within 30 days. However, the plaintiffs alleged that Odin Properties continued to charge, demand, and collect rent each month, even as the building remained in unsafe status.
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A group of Philadelphia renters has reached a settlement in one of the largest per-tenant recovery class action suits in the city’s rental law history. Picture: Google Maps
Founder and CEO of Odin Properties, Philip Balderston
Odin Properties will now be required to forgive all unpaid rent and associated fees, estimated to be $66,891 ($A95,000), and provide $US75,000 ($A107,000) in cash refunds for any rent collected, for a total of $US141,891 ($A202,000) in relief.
“This case sends a simple message: Landlords cannot collect rent while ignoring serious safety violations,” Madison Gray, the staff lawyer at the Public Interest Law Center, tells Realtor.com. “We hope it becomes clear that collecting rent while ignoring serious safety violations is a losing business model in Philadelphia, and we hope it encourages every landlord in the city to fix dangerous conditions promptly and comply with the law before tenants are forced to go to court.”
Realtor.com reached out to Odin Properties for a statement, but received no response.
Bentley Manor, which has approximately 71 sets of renters, was constructed in 1962. Between November 2021 and February 2024, L & I issued several violations related to fire safety, electrical hazards, and nonlatching building doors, all of which were resolved, according to the complaint.
On November 14, 2024, L & I issued another notice of violation declaring the building an “unsafe structure,” citing “loose and missing bricks” and a “leaning parapet” as dangerous conditions. At the same time, multiple previous violations continued to resurface.
When the class-action complaint was filed four months later, in March, Odin Properties had allegedly still not made the building safe to the satisfaction of L & I, which made it ineligible to collect rent.
“Nevertheless, the Odin Defendants charged and collected rent from Plaintiffs and other tenants in December 2024, and in January, February, and March, 2025,” the complaint reads.
The Philadelphia landlord will now be required to forgive all unpaid rent and associated fees, estimated to be $US66,891, and provide $US75,000 in cash refunds for any rent collected, for a total of $US141,891 in relief. Picture: Getty Images (Stock image)
Three tenants were named as plaintiffs in the complaint: SEPTA transit operator Porter Grant, who paid $US1,274 ($A1,820) in monthly rent; Philadelphia police officer Casey Allison, who paid $US1,352 ($A1,900) in monthly rent; and a grandmother with mobility impairments, Dawn Colbourne, who paid $317 in monthly rent with the Philadelphia Housing Authority paying a monthly $US968 ($A1,300) subsidy.
“Without admitting or conceding any wrongdoing, liability, or damages, the Defendants have agreed to settle the Action to avoid the substantial expense, inconvenience, burden, and disruption of continued litigation,” the settlement document reads.
In between the lawsuit being filed in March 2025 and the settlement, the defendants made the necessary repairs to Bentley Manor.
Tenants will receive individualised amounts of the $US75,000 ($A107,000) settlement pool based on how much they paid during the noncompliance time period. On average, tenants will receive more than $US1,200 ($A1,700) per refund check, according to Gray.
“We also hope this sends a message to tenants. Philadelphia’s housing laws only matter if they’re enforced, and they don’t enforce themselves,” says Gray. “This settlement shows that when landlords break the rules, tenants can fight back and win. Ultimately, we hope this settlement shows that tenants can hold even large landlords accountable when those laws are broken.”
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
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