Rental

Saugatuck’s Community Split by Short-Term Rental Caps and Emerging Legal Battles

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Saugatuck, Michigan — The crux of community division in Saugatuck lately is the issue of short-term rentals and newly implemented regulations designed to limit their expansion. The city, known for its picturesque lake views and vibrant tourist economy, has seen heated debates over how to balance local residential interests with booming vacation rental businesses. Earlier in the year, the Saugatuck City Council passed measures that established a 20% cap on short-term rentals within the R-1 Residential Districts. This move led to immediate legal challenges. A local group known as Saugatuck Neighbors soon filed a lawsuit … Read more

Washington Attorney General Takes Stand Against Rental Price Fixing in Nationwide Legal Battle

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SEATTLE, WA — Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson has allied with attorneys general from eight other states in a legal battle against RealPage and various landlords, alleging illegal price-fixing in the rental housing market. This aligns with a broader national trend, with origins in a class action lawsuit initiated on behalf of Seattle tenants, where rental prices have markedly increased. Initiated in response to an investigative piece in January 2023, Ferguson’s probe into RealPage revealed that since 2017, approximately 800,000 leases might have been influenced by the company’s software, which allegedly facilitates the exchange of … Read more

Judge Challenges Local Authority: Takes Stand Against Rental Fee Regulations in Ponce Inlet Victory

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Ponce Inlet, FL — In a recent dispute concerning local regulatory fees, Circuit Judge Dennis Craig, presiding over civil cases in Volusia County, emerged victorious against the Ponce Inlet Code Enforcement Board. Craig, acting in his capacity as a private citizen and landlord, challenged the legality of a rental permit and inspection fee imposed by the town. Craig argued that a Florida law enacted last year strips municipalities of the authority to levy such fees on landlords. Specifically, he contended that Ponce Inlet’s $500 fee for a rental permit and inspection was invalidated by state … Read more

Bucks Party Nightmare: Men Accused of Non-consensual Group Encounters in Newcastle Rental

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Sydney, Australia — A trial unfolding at the Downing Centre District Court has accused three men of committing sexual offenses against three teenagers during a bucks party weekend in a Newcastle apartment last year. Maurice Hawell, 30, his brother Marius Hawell, 22, and friend Andrew David, 30, are standing trial amidst serious allegations of sexual assault stemming from events that reportedly began consensually but escalated to non-consensual activities. Prosecutors argue that the incidents in question began on a Friday night in February 2022, when a group including the accused and seven other men invited women … Read more