BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State Attorney General's office announced Wednesday that $65,000 in restitution has been recouped for hundreds of SUNY Buffalo State students who were deceived by a private student housing provider.
According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, in addition to the restitution, more than $200,000 in illegal housing debt has been canceled for dozens of students. The restitution is being paid as part of an agreement with an off-campus private student housing provider.
In a press release, the Attorney General said in part, "An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found that Monarch 716 routinely coaxed students into signing leases, then demanded thousands of dollars in rent while denying students access to those apartments."
The investigation also found that Monarch 716 had illegally charged students excess rent and fees on multiple occasions.
"Preying on students with illegal housing schemes is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," said Attorney General James. "Monarch 716 engaged in serious predatory behavior that violated tenants’ rights and made students, who were just starting out their lives, feel threatened. Today’s agreement will help students impacted by Monarch 716 get their lives back in order without having thousands of dollars of debt looming over their heads. My office is committed to standing up to predatory landlords and protecting students."
The investigation was started in September 2020 to look into Monarch 716, also known as Monarch, which is owned by 100 Forest Ave LLC and managed by XFD Real Estate Partners. The off-campus student housing provider primarily markets to SUNY Buffalo State students, according to James.
As a result of the agreement with Monarch, the Attorney General's office says the company will also have to pay a $50,000 civil penalty.
"I want to thank Attorney General James and her office for holding Monarch 716 accountable and canceling the thousands of dollars in debt the company tried to illegally saddle me with," said Maria Reid, an impacted SUNY Buffalo State College student. "Monarch 716 deceived me and so many others while threatening to send us to debt collectors and ruining our credit. After viewing a Monarch 716 apartment, the company claimed I owed thousands of dollars without ever doing its due diligence to see if I even qualified for the apartment. I never lived in a Monarch 716 apartment for even a day, yet was told I needed to pay thousands. I’m glad that this company will be blocked from harming another student because of the attorney general’s work."