A State College landlord has reached a settlement with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office over allegations he took unlawful deductions from security deposits and provided poor living conditions to tenants. Rodney Hendricks of Hendricks Investments agreed to pay $30,000, which will be used to reimburse eligible tenants who previously filed complaints.

Additionally, Hendricks will provide tenants with a written and itemized list of actual damages when making deductions from security deposits and agreed to a prohibition on deductions for normal wear and tear and to disclaimers to all photos used to promote his properties which require a personal inspection of these properties before a lease is signed.

According to prosecutors, Hendricks illegally deducted from security deposits and advertised properties as move-in ready while tenants moved into dirty and unsafe properties. Many of the tenants were Penn State students.

Tenant complaints in the lawsuit, first filed in 2021, against Hendricks included residences being dirty upon move-in, a heating system that was broken for months, no electricity in a bedroom, sewage backing up into a shower, a flooding sewer pipe, broken toilet and appliances, collapsing drywall ceiling due to roof leaks, broken windows, failure to remedy a pre-existing “rodent issue,” and a house infiltrated by squirrels and a bat. One tenant alleged a residence was infested with fleas upon move-in and they had to pay for extermination and to replace carpeting with laminate flooring.

“For many, student housing marks their first experience living independently, but this landlord turned it into a negative experience for many tenants,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. “All Pennsylvania property managers must abide by landlord/tenant laws, and this settlement ensures that Hendricks Investments will no longer provide subpar properties or make excessive deductions from security deposits.”

Hendricks Investments owns houses, apartments, and duplexes in State College and the surrounding area, according to its website. One of its properties, a house at 142 McAllister St., is set for demolition to make room for a new parking garage on Pugh Street. The house is one of the few remaining in the block in downtown State College formed by Beaver Avenue, College Avenue, High Street, and Atherton Street.

Hendricks did not respond to a request for comment from Onward State.