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AG Ellison reaches settlement with landlord that illegally charged for utilities • Minnesota Reformer [1]

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Date: 2025-08

A corporate landlord with several apartment buildings in the Twin Cities must pay tenants more than $5 million after charging exorbitant utility fees at most of its properties, which led to eviction actions against at least 21 residents.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Investment Property Group in 2023 over the illegal utility bills, which impacted at least 4,000 households. The two parties settled on Wednesday, with Investment Property Group agreeing to pay $1.8 million to tenants harmed by the illegal utility bills, and $350 in rent credits to all tenants at certain properties.

Investment Property Group will also forgive tenants’ rent and utility debt.

“I am pleased my office was able to stop illegal practices harming tenants and will be able to put hard-earned money back in tenants’ pockets,” Ellison said in a press release.

Landlords for buildings with a single utility meter — rather than one per unit — can charge residents for a portion of the building’s utility usage, as long as they follow certain disclosure requirements. For instance, the landlord must give prospective tenants an estimate of their utility costs before they sign a lease.

Investment Property Group did not follow those disclosure requirements, and in many cases, started charging tenants hundreds of dollars in utility bills and fees in the middle of their leases, according to the attorney general’s office.

The attorney general’s office also alleges that Investment Property Group illegally withheld tenants’ security deposits.

Separately, tenants in two of Investment Property Group’s buildings demonstrated over unjustified charges, security issues and a failure to complete repairs, clean common areas and respond to noise complaints. Tenants at those two buildings were not included in the lawsuit and are ineligible for restitution.

Investment Property Group did not immediately return a request for comment.

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[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/ag-settlement-with-landlord-that-illegally-charged-for-utilities/

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