The first deal calls for Concierge Apartments to pay displaced residents in three separate buildings between $1,100 and $1,700 per individual unit, depending on the number of occupants, plus provide three months of free rent and a waiver of February's water and utility fees. Tenants in those buildings can also break their leases without penalty. The average compensation per unit is roughly $15,100, the attorney general's office said.
Units in two other buildings can receive cash payments of $500, one month of free rent and similar water and utility waivers, the office said. Total compensation for units in those two buildings will average around $3,400.
"Following our investigation and negotiations, Concierge management has committed to an unprecedented $5.1 million in financial relief to tenants to address unlivable, exceptional health and safety violations, disruption to their lives and loss of property," Attorney General William M. Tong said in a statement.
"Still today, hundreds of Concierge residents are living in hotels, some far from their community, their jobs and schools," Tong said.
The second agreement is expected to require future inspections and better communication between Concierge management, residents and the town of Rocky Hill, according to Tong's office. The agreements can be enforced in court, it said.
The attorney general said millions of dollars in future work will be necessary "to address years of neglect and mismanagement."
State Rep. Kerry Wood, a Democrat who represents Rocky Hill and Wethersfield, said the deals were the "first step in righting the wrongs of the past" and state Sen. Matt Lesser, a Democrat who represents Rocky Hill and surrounding municipalities, said Concierge residents experienced "real hardships and lasting trauma."
Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli announced the probe in early February, filing a civil investigative demand under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act after hearing allegations of burst pipes, no heat in some units and no hot water in others. Those woes led to evacuation orders in subzero temperatures, Tong's office said when filing the demand.
The attorney general also said three deaths had occurred on the property during the preceding year, including one individual who was found dead in a "poorly plowed parking lot" after a storm.
When filing the demand, Tong accused Concierge of asking residents to file individual renter insurance claims to cover some of the harms.
In letters released by the attorney general's office, local counsel for JRK unit Century Hills Property Owner LLC on Feb. 5 said the landlord had invested $22 million in the property since 2013 to address "deferred maintenance existing at the time of its acquisition."
In a Feb. 6 reply, Tong said the letter was both "tone-deaf" and "callous," noting Rocky Hill officials had ordered an overnight evacuation of the entire complex between Feb. 5 and Feb. 6.
The resulting civil investigation demand required JRK Property Holdings and JRK Residential Group officials to provide answers and documents under oath about tenant complaints dating back to 2021.
"We have reached an agreement in principle on a financial package to support residents displaced after prolonged subfreezing temperatures damaged fire suppression and water lines at Concierge Rocky Hill," a JRK spokesperson told Law360 on Thursday.
"Our focus throughout this incident has been completing emergency repairs, restoring critical building systems, meeting required safety inspections and supporting residents through an extremely disruptive period," the spokesperson said. "Residents have begun returning home following safety clearances. In addition to hotel accommodations during the repair period, the package includes rent relief, utility reimbursements, direct financial support for eligible residents and lease flexibility."
JRK said it committed more than $6 million to repair the complex after the early February freeze.
--Editing by Stephen Berg.
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