{"id":256878,"date":"2026-08-01T02:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T02:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/256878\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T02:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T02:38:11","slug":"west-oak-lane-tenants-and-landlord-odin-properties-agreed-on-rent-refunds-in-class-action-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/256878\/","title":{"rendered":"West Oak Lane tenants and landlord Odin Properties agreed on rent refunds in class-action lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n

West Oak Lane<\/a> tenants who sued one of Philadelphia\u2019s biggest landlords over unsafe conditions will get rent forgiveness and refunds if their class-action settlement<\/a> is approved.<\/p>\n

According to the settlement, which was preliminarily approved in Philadelphia\u2019s Common Pleas Court this week, Philadelphia-based Odin Properties<\/a> and affiliated companies have agreed to forgive an estimated total of $67,000 in unpaid rent and associated late fees, and to refund a total of $75,000 for roughly 70 tenants of the Bentley Manor apartment building.<\/p>\n

\u00bb READ MORE: Tenants are suing one of Philly\u2019s biggest landlords after months of unsafe conditions<\/a><\/p>\n

Philadelphia law prohibits landlords from collecting rent if they have a serious violation from the city\u2019s Department of Licenses and Inspections<\/a> that has been outstanding for at least 30 days from when they received notice.<\/p>\n

In November 2024, the department declared the 71-unit Bentley Manor apartment building in West Oak Lane unsafe, saying property conditions presented an \u201cimmediate danger or hazard to health, safety, and welfare.\u201d The agency cited loose and missing bricks on exterior walls and a leaning parapet<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Tenants are entitled to rent relief and refunds for the time period of Dec. 14, 2024, through April 28, 2025, according to the settlement. <\/p>\n

The agreement provides for the largest known per-tenant award in a class-action lawsuit under Philadelphia\u2019s rental license and certificate law, according to the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Public Interest Law Center and the Philadelphia-based Hausfeld law firm, which sued on behalf of Bentley Manor tenants in March 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA settlement was possible because Odin took real steps \u2014 on its own \u2014 to comply with Philadelphia law,\u201d Madison Gray, staff attorney at the Public Interest Law Center<\/a>, said in a statement. \u201cAll landlords should follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Odin Properties\u2019 affiliate companies own and manage roughly 2,000 housing units in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Soon after Bentley Manor tenants sued in March 2025, Odin Properties made necessary safety repairs at the building. Fernrock Apartments 2 LP, an affiliate of Odin Properties that owned Bentley Manor during the time period covered by the settlement, sold the apartment building for more than $6.2 million in December, according to city records.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur residents are incredibly important to us and have been since our founding,\u201d Philip Balderston, CEO of Odin Properties, said in a statement. \u201cAll of our properties are free and clear of City of Philadelphia violations and current on licensure, and we look forward to being positive catalysts for our communities long into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawn Colbourne, one of three named plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against Odin Properties, moved into Bentley Manor in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all deserve a safe place to live, no matter who we are,\u201d Colbourne said in a statement. \u201cThis agreement is a step forward in making sure that happens, and I\u2019m glad that we\u2019re taking this step together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The settlement agreement still needs final court approval. Between now and a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 26, the roughly 70 people who are eligible for rent relief \u2014 including two former tenants \u2014 will be notified about the preliminary settlement and given the opportunity to object to the agreement or ask to be excluded from it.<\/p>\n

Will Hanna, an associate at Hausfeld, said in a statement that the law firm is \u201cproud of the settlement reached in this case and believe this will provide meaningful results for Philadelphians.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min West Oak Lane tenants who sued one of Philadelphia\u2019s biggest landlords over unsafe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[109289,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-256878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-odin-properties-philadelphia-lawsuit-rent-refund-unsafe","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}