Court Opinion

ID: 9762991
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 02:35:03.604453+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:55:10.096803
License: Public Domain

KARWACKI, Judge.
This case presents two important questions for our consideration: (1) whether in a private action under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, a tenant may obtain restitution of rent paid for premises that are not licensed as required by a local housing code upon proof of no more than lack of licensure; and (2) whether a tenant is entitled to restitution of voluntary rent payments made on an unenforceable lease.
I.
Responding to an advertisement in the Columbia Flyer, a newspaper circulated in Howard County, Tammy and Michael CitaraManis (the CitaraManises or tenants) inspected a duplex house at 7217 Carved Stone in Columbia which Eustace and Portia Hallowed (the Hallowells or landlords) offered for rent. Thereafter, the CitaraManises and the Hallowells entered into a one-year lease agreement, which provided that the CitaraManises would pay $850.00 per month in rent for the period from November 1, 1987 until October 31, 1988, as well as a security deposit of one month’s rent.
*145During that one year tenancy the condition of the house was acceptable to the CitaraManises, and the Hallowells made minor repairs as needed. When the one-year lease expired, the parties orally agreed to extend the lease on a month to month basis, at an increased monthly rent of $875.00. This increased amount was paid by the tenants to the landlords until the CitaraManises vacated the premises at the end of April 1989.
Several days after the tenants informed the landlords of their intention to vacate the property on April 30, 1989, the CitaraManises learned that the premises at 7217 Carved Stone were not licensed during their tenancy as rental property by Howard County. On April 30, 1989 the couple moved out of 7217 Carved Stone.
Approximately three months later, the CitaraManises filed suit for damages in the Circuit Court for Howard County against their former landlords, alleging that the Hallowells had engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices prohibited by the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, Maryland Code (1975, 1983 Repl.Vol., 1988 Cum.Supp.) §§ 13-301 through 13-501 of the Commercial Law Article (the CPA). Asserting in their Complaint that the lack of licensure and the Hallowell’s failure to inform them of the lack of licensure constituted such unfair and deceptive trade practices, the CitaraManises sought restitution of the eighteen months rent they had paid to the Hallowells.
The Hallowells admitted in their Answer that at no time during the CitaraManises’ tenancy was their house at 7217 Carved Stone licensed as rental property, as required by Howard County Code (1977, 1985 Rev.)1 § 13.102, and con*146ceded that they failed to inform the CitaraManises that the required rental license had not been obtained.
Agreeing that no material facts were in dispute, the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment. Following a hearing, the Circuit Court for Howard County granted the tenants’ motion for summary judgment and denied the landlords’ cross-motion. The trial court reasoned that this result was mandated by this Court’s decision in Golt v. Phillips, 308 Md. 1, 517 A.2d 328 (1986). On February 2, 1990, judgment in the amount of $15,450.00, representing all of the rent that the CitaraManises had paid during their tenancy, was entered in favor of the CitaraManises. A timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals was noted by the Hallowells. The intermediate appellate court reversed *147the judgment of the trial court and held that because the CitaraManises had not demonstrated that any condition of the premises during their tenancy constituted a “substantial housing code violation” within the meaning of the rent escrow statute, Md.Code (1974, 1988 Repl.Vol.) § 8-211 of the Real Property Article, or that the lack of licensure had caused a diminution in the rental value of the property, they had not incurred actual damages, a prerequisite to recovery in a private action under the Consumer Protection Act. Hallowell v. CitaraManis, 88 Md.App. 160, 594 A.2d 591 (1991).
We granted the CitaraManises’ petition for certiorari to determine whether a tenant who brings a private action under the CPA may be awarded restitution of rent paid for an unlicensed dwelling upon proving lack of licensure alone. The Hallowells’ conditional cross-petition for certiorari also was granted in part to review the question of the right to restitution of voluntary payments made under an illegal contract.
II.
In Golt v. Phillips, supra, John Golt, an elderly, disabled retiree, responded to an advertisement placed by Phillips Brothers and Associates for a furnished, multi-family, rental apartment. When Mr. Golt inspected the premises, he found that it needed cleaning and repairs. Mr. Golt was assured that the repairs would be made; however, Phillips Brothers failed to make the promised repairs. Consequently, Golt filed a complaint with the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development regarding the condition of the apartment. During an inspection undertaken pursuant to the complaint, the housing inspector discovered that the unit was not licensed as required by the Baltimore City Code for multi-family rental use and that there were numerous housing code violations. These included the lack of the most basic health and safety measures: no toilet in Mr. Golt’s apartment, no fire doors, defective door locks, and no fire exits.
*148Violation notices were sent to Phillips Brothers by the Department of Housing ordering them to repair the violations and either to obtain the proper license or to discontinue renting the apartment. Rather than correct the violations and obtain the proper license, Phillips Brothers evicted Mr. Golt during the lease term. Mr. Golt was forced to find another apartment and incurred moving expenses. The rent for his new apartment was $99.00 more per month than his original rent of $135.00.
Under these facts, we held that Phillips Brothers had engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in the rental of consumer realty. Id. 308 Md. at 11, 517 A.2d at 333. Specifically, we held that Phillips Brothers advertisement and rental of an unlicensed apartment was a prohibited unfair and deceptive practice expressly prohibited by the CPA which in § 13-301 states in pertinent part:
“Unfair or deceptive trade practices include any:
(1) False, falsely disparaging, or misleading oral or written statement, visual description, or other representation of any kind which has the capacity, tendency, or effect of deceiving or misleading consumers;
(2) Representation that:
(i) Consumer ... realty ... have a sponsorship, approval, accessory, characteristic ... which they do not have____
(3) Failure to state a material fact if the failure deceives or tends to deceive____”
We then addressed the damages which Golt was entitled to recover. We observed:
“Section 13-408 of the CPA sets forth the private remedy created by the act: ‘any person may bring an action to recover for injury or loss sustained by him as the result of a practice prohibited by this title.’ This private remedy is purely compensatory; it contains no punitive component. Indeed, any punitive assessment under the CPA is accomplished by an imposition of a civil penalty recoverable by the State under § 13-410, as well *149as by criminal penalties imposed under § 13-411. Thus, in determining the damages due the consumer, we must look only to his actual loss or injury caused by the unfair or deceptive trade practices. ”
Id. at 12, 517 A.2d at 333 (emphasis added). Accordingly, we held that Golt was entitled to compensatory damages consisting of restitution of the rent which he had paid for three months for the uninhabitable apartment and consequential damages, such as the cost of moving from the premises and the additional cost of substitute housing for the remainder of the term of the lease which he had entered with Phillips Brothers.
The facts in Golt stand in stark contrast with those of the case sub judice. The CitaraManises do not allege that the house they rented was unclean, unsafe, uninhabitable or unsuitable in any regard. To the contrary, during argument before the trial judge, the CitaraManises’ counsel explicitly argued that the condition of the property was irrelevant because the basis of their cause of action is misrepresentation regarding the failure to license, not the condition of the property.2 Indeed, the CitaraManises elected to extend their tenancy and remain on the premises for another six months after the termination of the original lease at a higher rent.3
In support of their argument that the condition of the leased premises is irrelevant to their claim for restitution of the rent paid, the CitaraManises rely on the following language in our opinioin in Golt.
*150“It is evident that the [multiple family dwelling] license fee is charged to support the cost of inspections, and not to raise revenue. Therefore, Phillips Brothers may not retain any benefits from the unlicensed lease, and Golt may recover his full damages.”
Id. at 13, 517 A.2d at 334. Because of the obvious actual loss and damage suffered by the tenant in Golt who paid rent for what proved to be an uninhabitable apartment, we realize now, for the reasons hereinafter set forth, that we spoke much too broadly in making the statement just quoted.
III.
Finding that existing laws were “inadequate, poorly coordinated and not widely known or adequately enforced,” § 13-102(a)(2), the General Assembly enacted the CPA as a comprehensive consumer protection act to provide protection against unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions. § 13-102(b). The intention of the Legislature was to set “minimum statewide standards for the protection of consumers.” § 13 — 102(b)(1); see § 13-103(a). To realize this end, the General Assembly sought to implement strong protective and preventive measures to assist the public in obtaining relief from unlawful consumer practices and to maintain the health and welfare of the citizens of the State. § 13-102(b)(3). In 1976, the CPA was amended to include consumer real estate within its coverage. Ch. 907 of the Acts of 1976. The Division of Consumer Protection of the Office of the Attorney General (Division) is given broad powers to enforce the CPA, including the ability to seek injunctions, cease and desist orders, restitution, and civil penalties. §§ 13-401 through 13-406 and 13-410. Such actions may be initiated by a consumer complaint or a Division investigation. Violators of the CPA may also be criminally prosecuted. § 13-411.
In addition to these methods of public enforcement, the Legislature has provided for a private action for damages *151by a consumer who has been subjected to a practice prohibited by the CPA. Section 13-408 provides:
“(a) Actions authorized. — In addition to any action by the Division or Attorney General authorized by this title and any other action otherwise authorized by law, any person may bring an action to recover for injury or loss sustained by him as the result of a practice prohibited by this title.
“(b) Attorney’s fees. — Any person who brings an action to recover for injury or loss under this section and who is awarded damages may also seek, and the court may award, reasonable attorney’s fees.
“(c) Frivolous actions. — If it appears to the satisfaction of the court, at any time, that an action is brought in bad faith or is of a frivolous nature, the court may order the offending party to pay to the other party reasonable attorney’s fees.”
A consumer who has been subjected to an unfair or deceptive trade practice may elect to utilize either the public or private enforcement proceedings available under the CPA or may utilize both public and private enforcement proceedings, either simultaneously or in the alternative. The CitaraManises chose not to file a complaint with the Division and avail themselves of any of the CPA’s public enforcement remedies; instead, they brought a private action pursuant to § 13-408(a).
It is manifest from the language employed in § 13-408(a) that the General Assembly intended that a plaintiff pursuing a private action under the CPA prove actual “injury or loss sustained.” Golt, 308 Md. at 12, 517 A.2d at 333. Alperin and Chase give some insight into the rationale for restricting those who can invoke the private remedy provision of a consumer protection statute:
“Many of the state consumer protection acts permit a consumer to bring a private action against a businessman who has acted unfairly or deceptively only if the consumer has been injured or damaged by the businessman’s conduct. This restriction is said to prevent aggressive *152consumers who were not personally harmed by the prohibited conduct, or even involved in a transaction with the offending businessman, from instituting suit ‘as self-constituted private attorneys general’ over relatively minor statutory violations. Another fear is that the powerful weapon given to consumers in the form of the private remedy ‘was capable of being used improperly for harassment and improper coercive tactics.’ ”
1 H. Alperin & R. Chase, Consumer Law: Sales Practices and Credit Regulation § 136, at 193 (1986) (footnotes omitted).
Notwithstanding the availability of both public and private remedies to consumers, the Legislature has established a clear distinction between the elements necessary to maintain a public enforcement proceeding versus a private enforcement proceeding. In a public enforcement proceeding “[a]ny practice prohibited by this title is a violation ... whether or not any consumer in fact has been misled, deceived, or damaged as a result of that practice.” § 13-302. In contrast, a private enforcement proceeding pursuant to § 13-408(a) expressly only permits a consumer “to recover for injury or loss sustained by him as the result of a practice prohibited by this title.” § 13-408(a). Section 13-408(a), therefore, requires an aggrieved consumer to establish the nature of the actual injury or loss that he or she has allegedly sustained as a result of the prohibited practice. This statutory construction creates a bright line distinction between the public enforcement remedies available under the CPA, and the private remedy available under § 13-408(a). Cf. Consumer Protection v. Consumer Pub., 304 Md. 731, 770-71, 501 A.2d 48, 68-69 (1985) (holding that a public enforcement remedy does not require proof of actual deception of or harm to a consumer).
Commentators have concluded that this statutory distinction between the CPA’s public enforcement remedies and its private remedy indicates that proof of actual damage is required under § 13-408(a):
*153“Enjoining an activity that has not yet caused actual harm seems entirely consistent with an important purpose of the Act, to prevent unfair or deceptive practices. See id. § 13-102(b)(3). It is clearly contrary, however, to the language of § 13-408 to permit a consumer a cause of action if no damages have been sustained, and no legitimate legislative purpose would be served by such a reading. Section 13-302 should be interpreted to pertain to enforcement action by the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Protection, and § 13-408 should be read to control the elements necessary to establish a private cause of action.”
Comment, Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act: A Private Cause of Action for Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices, 38 Md.Law.Rev. 733, 739 n. 50 (1979) [hereinafter Comment, Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act] (emphasis added). Thus, the CPA’s public enforcement mechanisms are set up to prevent potentially unfair or deceptive trade practices from occurring, even before any consumer is injured, whereas § 13-408(a) requires that actual “injury or loss” be sustained by a consumer before recovery of damages is permitted in a private cause of action. A construction of the CPA that would establish § 13-302 as a benchmark to determine whether a consumer has sustained “injury or loss,” within the meaning of § 13-408(a), is both strained and illogical.
Furthermore, in the case sub judice, awarding full restitution of the rent paid by the tenants who offered no proof of actual injury or loss would be in the nature of a punitive remedy, merely serving to penalize the Hallowells for their failure to obtain a license for the property and to serve as a deterrent to similar conduct on the part of landlords generally. Section 13-408(a) was not intended to punish the landlord or set an example for similar wrongdoers. Golt, 308 Md. at 12, 517 A.2d at 333. Rather the damages due to the consumer under § 13-408(a) are for “injury and loss”— such as will compensate the injured party for the injury *154sustained due to the defendant’s acts and for indirect consequences of such acts.
Arguably no landlord will comply with local licensure requirements for consumer realty if the penalty for such an unfair or deceptive practice is not severe, but the appropriate means for addressing this potential problem is through the imposition of civil penalties under § 13-410, and criminal penalties under § 13-411 of the CPA, not by transforming § 13-408(a) into a punitive measure. Sections 13-410 and 13-411 are intended to punish those persons who violate the CPA. The civil penalties provided by § 13-410 are a fine of up to $1,000 for the first violation and a fine not to exceed $5,000 for subsequent violations. Where no other criminal penalty is specifically provided elsewhere, § 13-411 provides for criminal penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both, in addition to any civil penalties. Significantly, the landlords in the instant case were also subject to civil penalties and criminal prosecution under § 13.103 of the Howard County Code. See supra footnote 1.
The CitaraManises contend that to require a showing of actual loss or injury as a precondition to a right of action under § 13-408(a) limits the recovery of a consumer to that available under preexisting law. We disagree. Section 13-408(a) provides a remedy to the consumer for many forms of misrepresentation not covered by the traditional theories of tort liability for deceit, contract actions for breach of express and implied warranties and warranties provided for under the Real Property Article and the Commercial Law article. See generally, Comment, Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act, supra, at 740-53. Additionally, the CPA permits the award of attorney’s fees to any person who is awarded damages under § 13-408(a). See § 13-408(b).
The CitaraManises assert that cases construing consumer protection acts from other jurisdictions support their position that a showing of actual damages is not a prerequisite to recovery under § 13-408(a) of the CPA. We are not *155persuaded. We have reviewed these cases and observe that the consumer protection statutes construed therein fall into three general categories: (1) statutes that require proof of actual damages and in the absence of such proof award nominal statutory damages; (2) statutes that explicitly require that an aggrieved consumer be granted a complete refund; and (3) statutes that explicitly require actual damages be proven.4 We conclude that the language of § 13-408(a) bears the most similarity to those statutes in category (3).
(1)
Leardi v. Brown, 394 Mass. 151, 474 N.E.2d 1094 (1985) is representative of the cases in jurisdictions that permit recovery for injury to the consumer resulting from a violation of a consumer protection act, but require proof of actual damages and in the absence of such proof award statutory damages. In Leardi, tenants brought a class action against their landlord for use of deceptive and illegal clauses in the landlord’s standard lease. They alleged that they need not demonstrate harm under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act in order to be entitled to recover damages and the court agreed. The court first held that the landlord was guilty of a deceptive practice under the statute and then determined that an injured consumer was not required to demonstrate “any loss of money or property, real or personal” in order to have a cause of action under the statute, because an amendment to the statute provided that the recovery for a person who has been injured shall be in the amount of actual damages or $25.00, *156whichever is greater.5 The tenants in Leardi were unable to prove any harm and therefore the court awarded each tenant statutory damages in the amount of $25.00.
Consistent with the decision of the Leardi court, the jurisdictions that have permitted recovery for injuries to the consumer resulting from violation of a consumer protection statute, without a showing of actual damages, have been those with statutes providing for the recovery to be the greater of the amount of actual damages or statutory damages. Beslity v. Manhattan Honda, 120 Misc.2d 848, 854, 467 N.Y.S.2d 471, 475 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1983); Geismar v. Abraham & Straus, 109 Misc.2d 495, 499, 439 N.Y.S.2d 1005, 1008 (Dist.Ct.1981); See also Rein v. Koons Ford, 318 Md. 130, 142-44, 567 A.2d 101, 106-07 (1989) (construing a Virginia consumer protection statute).
In contrast to the Massachusetts statute at issue in Leardi, § 13-408(a) of the CPA does not provide the alternative relief of statutory damages in the absence of a showing of actual damages. Rather § 13-408(a) expressly restricts the action to persons “to recover for injury or loss sustained by him.” The Legislature could have drafted a statute which provided for minimum statutory damages in the event of proof of a violation of the CPA, absent proof of actual damages. It chose not to do so.
(2)
The New Jersey legislature enacted the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.Stat.Ann. §§ 56:8-1 through 56:8-48 (West 1989), intending that it be one of the strongest consumer protection laws in the United States. See New Mea Const. Corp. v. Harper, 203 N.J.Super. 486, 501-02, 497 A.2d 534, 543 (1985). The act provides that: “Any person violating the provisions of the within act shall be liable for a refund of all moneys acquired by means of any practice declared herein *157to be unlawful.” N.J.Stat.Ann. See Huffmaster v. Robinson, 221 N.J.Super. 315, 319, 534 A.2d 435, 437 (1986) (additionally, the assessment of treble damages and attorney’s fees is mandatory when a violation of the act has been proved). We reject the CitaraManises’ suggestion of a statutory interpretation of § 13-408(a) that is identical to this statute.
(3)
In the instant case the Court of Special Appeals based its interpretation of 13-408(a) as requiring proof of actual damages on Conaway v. Prestia, 191 Conn. 484, 464 A.2d 847 (1983), which is exemplary of consumer protection acts that require proof of actual damages. In that case, a group of tenants brought a class action, alleging that their landlord had violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, Conn.Gen.Stat. §§ 42-110a through 42-110q, by collecting rents without first obtaining certificates of occupancy. In addressing the problem presented by the damages issue, the court distinguished those tenants who had established housing code violations, apart from the licensing violation, from those who had not made such a showing. In holding that the tenants who had not demonstrated housing code violations were unable to prove actual damages, the court reasoned, “They must present sufficient evidence to enable the trier to ascertain with reasonable certainty the diminution of the rental value occasioned by the defendants’ wrongful conduct.” Id. at 495, 464 A.2d at 853 (footnote omitted). Connecticut’s statute expressly requires a showing of “actual damages” as a prerequisite for recovery of monetary damages,6 whereas the CPA requires a showing of actual “loss or injury” to entitle a person to recover under § 13-408(a). Nevertheless, we decided in Golt, supra, that “in determining the damages due the consumer, *158we must look only to his actual loss or injury caused by the unfair or deceptive trade practices.” 308 Md. at 12, 517 A.2d at 333. See also A. Secondino and Son, Inc. v. LoRicco, 215 Conn. 336, 576 A.2d 464, 468 (1990). We adhere to that conclusion. The tenants, of course, will have the opportunity at trial to offer evidence of any actual loss or injury caused them by the fact that the leased premises was unlicensed as required by law.
IV.
Finally, we reject the notion advanced by the Citara-Manises that, on the undisputed material facts before the trial court on their motion for summary judgment, they were entitled to obtain restitution of the rent they paid during their occupancy of the demised premises because the rent was paid pursuant to an illegal and unenforceable lease. Unenforceability of a contract because of illegality is a function of the strength of the public policy involved together with the degree of the violation of that policy under the facts of the case. Schloss v. Davis, 213 Md. 119, 124-25, 131 A.2d 287, 290-91 (1957). The CitaraManises rely on a line of Maryland cases dealing with claims for compensation for services rendered by persons who were engaged in occupations for which a license was required, in order to protect the public, but who did not have the required license. See, e.g., S.A.S. Personnel Consultants, Inc. v. Pat-Pan, Inc., 286 Md. 335, 341, 407 A.2d 1139, 1143 (1979); Harry Berenter, Inc. v. Berman, 258 Md. 290, 293, 265 A.2d 759, 761 (1970); Thorpe v. Carte, 252 Md. 523, 529, 250 A.2d 618, 621-22 (1969); Smirlock v. Potomac, 235 Md. 195, 203, 200 A.2d 922, 926-27 (1964); Snodgrass v. Immler, 232 Md. 416, 421-22, 194 A.2d 103, 105-06 (1963); Goldsmith v. Mfgrs’ Liability I. Co., 132 Md. 283, 286, 103 A. 627, 628 (1918). In cases of that type this Court has denied a recovery, either on an express contract theory or on the theory of quantum meruit, sought by one who rendered services for which payment has not yet been made. Here we need not decide whether lack of the re*159quired rental housing license, in and of itself and without regard to the condition of the premises, would be sufficient to bar a landlord’s claim for unpaid rent or for use and occupation. It is conceivable that a case could arise in which the public policy is so strong and the degree of violation so great that one benefitted by services rendered by an unlicensed person would be permitted to recover monies paid for the services, but that is not the situation presented on this record.
A.
In this case, even if the lease were unenforceable by the landlords, the tenants have received everything that they bargained for, and a necessary element justifying the remedy of restitution, i.e., unjust enrichment, is lacking. Restatement of Restitution § 1 (1937) (“[a] person who has been unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution to the other.”); II G. Palmer, The Law of Restitution, § 8.3; D. Dobbs, Law of Remedies, § 4.1, at 223-27 (1973); Williston, A Treatise on the Law of Contracts § 1479, at 275-76 (3d ed. 1970); Annotation, Recovery back of money paid to unlicensed person required by law to have occupational or business license or permit to make contract, 74 A.L.R.3d 637, 642.
In Comet Theatre Enterprises v. Cartwright, 195 F.2d 80, 83 (9th Cir.1952), plaintiff sued defendant contractor for the return of money voluntarily paid to the defendant on the ground that defendant was not licensed under the applicable state business and professional code. The code required contractors to procure a license and provided that failure to obtain a license was a misdemeanor. Unlicensed contractors were barred from suing to recover compensation for services, and thus, the court noted that under the statute, the plaintiff would not have been required to pay defendant for the services defendant rendered. This was a clear case of a consummated illegal transaction, the court reasoned, where the plaintiff acted under mistake of law in paying defendant. In response to the plaintiff’s argument *160that the licensing statute was passed for its benefit and that restitution was necessary to protect its rights, the court held that there can be no recovery of sums paid to an unlicensed contractor for services rendered where the services rendered are not defective and the party for whom they are rendered has received value for which he or she paid.
In Host v. Gauntlett, 73 Misc.2d 96, 98-99, 341 N.Y.S.2d 201, 203 (1973), the court addressed “whether the defendant who contracted to provide labor, services and materials under a home improvement contract, is obliged to return all moneys received, on the sole ground that the defendant did not have a license to do home improvement work.” (emphasis in original). In support of its position, the plaintiff argued that since the defendant was not licensed to do the work set forth in the contract, that the contract was illegal, and urged that the defendant not be permitted to retain the fruits of his illicit activity. Further, the plaintiff argued that the defendant had earned no right by way of quantum meruit since his wrongdoing was an assault upon the public interest. The court determined that because the contract was illegal, the law must leave the parties where it found them. Quoting Judge Cardozo, writing for the New York Court of Appeals, the court stated:
“The law may at times refuse to aid a wrongdoer in getting that which good conscience permits him to receive; it will not for that reason aid another in taking away from him that which good conscience entitles him to retain.”
Host, 73 Misc.2d at 99, 341 N.Y.S.2d at 204 (quoting Schank v. Schuchman, 212 N.Y. 352, 359, 106 N.E. 127, 129 (1914)). Thus, the court determined that a defendant, who in good conscience provides services should not be required to return the moneys received, since in so doing, it would bestow an unjust enrichment upon the complaining party. Public policy is protected by enactment of the licensing statute and the criminal penalties found thereunder, noted the court, “[f]or to direct the defendant to return the moneys he *161received would be tantamount to civil punishment in addition to criminal penalties, and as such, inconsistent with the traditional spirit of fair play in which every person has a vested interest, be he plaintiff or defendant.” 73 Misc.2d at 100, 341 N.Y.S.2d at 204. Finally, the court concluded by noting that the plaintiff proceeded on the singular basis that the unlicensed status of the defendant is, in and of itself, sufficient to warrant a full return of all sums paid, regardless of the actual benefits received from the defendant’s labors. The Host court rejected this argument, noting that all the plaintiff need do is to provide a sufficient basis for damages by showing that the work actually performed by the defendant was defective in some way.
In Mosley v. Johnson, 22 Utah 2d 348, 352-53, 453 P.2d 149, 152 (1969), a well driller sought to recover the balance due on a contract to drill a well. Defendants resisted payment on the ground that the well driller was not licensed and counterclaimed to recover a core drill which had been delivered as part payment. The court determined that the statute requiring well drillers to secure and keep annual permits is designed for protection of public and that one who drills a well without first securing such a permit cannot recover for work done, either on a contract or on a theory of quantum meruit. The court, however, noted that this penalty is severe enough, and the defendants for whom work was performed could not add to that penalty by recovering that which was voluntarily paid. See also Food Management, Inc. v. Blue Ribbon Beef Pack, Inc., 413 F.2d 716, 727 (8th Cir.1969 applying Iowa law); Goldman v. Garofalo, 71 App.Div.2d 650, 650, 418 N.Y.S.2d 803, 803-04 (1979), affd, 50 N.Y.2d 851, 430 N.Y.S.2d 53, 407 N.E.2d 1349 (1980); Grenco Real Estate Inv. v. Nathaniel Greene, 218 Va. 228, 232, 237 S.E.2d 107, 110 (1977); Homeland Insurance Co. v. Crescent Realty Co., 277 Ala. 213, 216-17, 168 So.2d 243, 246-47 (1964); Kempf v. Joint School Dist. No. 3, Town of Fredonia, 6 Wis.2d 95, 99, 94 N.W.2d 172, 174-75 (1959); Allen v. Miller, 1 Misc.2d 102, 103, 150 N.Y.S.2d 285, 286 (1955); Vogel v. Lotz, 26 N.J.Misc. 281, 60 *162A.2d 815, 816 (1948); McShane v. Quillin, 47 Idaho 542, 547-49, 277 P. 554, 559 (1929); Hartnett v. Van Alstine, 213 N.W. 595, 596 (Iowa 1927); Gaither v. Lindsey, 37 Tex.Civ.App. 149, 151, 83 S.W. 225, 226 (1904); Johnston v. Dahlgren, 166 N.Y. 354, 360, 59 N.E. 987, 988 (1901).
B.
Further, the facts of the instant case on summary judgment do not present the degree of illegality that triggers application of the rule of the unlicensed occupation cases. The licensing requirement in the instant matter and that involved in Golt v. Phillips, supra, have as their purpose the identification of premises to be inspected in order to determine compliance with housing codes. Determining whether particular landlords or their agents have necessary qualifications to render services as landlords is not the object of either licensing scheme. In effect, premises and not people are to be licensed.
In this respect, the instant matter and Golt are more like Schloss v. Davis, supra. The plaintiff in Schloss performed what we would now call construction manager services in the construction of a residence for the owner. In the construction manager’s suit on an oral contract for all of the allegedly promised compensation, the owner defended on the ground, inter alia, that the construction manager had violated the local building code by beginning work on the foundation and frame without a building permit. The permit apparently was obtained when final drawings became available before work progressed beyond the foundation and frame stages.
This Court rejected the owner’s illegality defense. We said:
“There is no suggestion that any of the work did not meet all requirements, so far as public health or safety is concerned, or that the plans, when submitted, were not approved by the Buildings Engineer in all respects, before any of the interior work on the building was begun. The *163contract for supervision was not illegal per se. At most, it was conditioned upon the obtaining of a permit by [the owner], based on the approval of the architectural drawings which [the owner] undertook to supply.
“It is the general rule that recovery will be denied if a contract is illegal in purpose or made by a person lacking the legal qualifications to contract. F.S. Bowen Elec. Co. v. Foley, [194 Va. 92] 72 S.E.2d 388 (Va. [1952]). Cf. Goldsmith v. Mfgrs’ Liability I. Co., 132 Md. 283 [103 A. 627 (1918)]. See also Note 118 A.L.R. 676. But there is a recognized exception in cases where a denial of recovery would impose a penalty out of all proportion to the public good, particularly where the violation is not of a serious nature and merely incidental to the performance of the contract. See Williston, Contracts (Rev. ed.), §§ 1631, 1765; Restatement, Contracts, § 600; John E. Rosasco Creameries v. Cohen, [276 N.Y. 274] 11 N.E.2d 908 (N.Y. [1937]); Ogilvy v. Peck, [200 Wash. 122] 93 P.2d 289 (Wash. [1939]); Keith Furnace Co. v. Mac Vicar, [225 Iowa 246] 280 N.W. 496 (Iowa [1938]); Fox v. Rogers, [171 Mass. 546] 50 N.E. 1041 (Mass. [1898]) (per Holmes, J.). This last case was explained, but not overruled on the facts, in Tocci v. Lembo, [325 Mass. 707] 92 N.E.2d 254 (Mass. [1950]). We think the violation here falls within the exception.”
Schloss, 213 Md. at 125, 131 A.2d at 291; see Smithy Braedon Co. v. Hadid, 825 F.2d 787, 791 (4th Cir.1987); Hiram Ricker & Sons v. Students Int’l Meditation Soc’y, 501 F.2d 550, 557 (1st Cir.1974); Gerry Potter’s Store Fixtures v. Cohen, 46 Md.App. 131, 136-37, 416 A.2d 283, 286 (1980) (citing and applying the above-quoted proposition in Schloss).
The approval of dwellings under a rental housing licensing scheme, from a public safety and welfare standpoint, is more like the approval of plans for the construction of buildings than the licensing of service occupations. Inasmuch as the construction manager in Schloss was permitted affirmatively to recover promised compensation, a fortiori, *164the Hallowells, on the present record, are not obliged to refund rent paid. On remand in this case, the task of the plaintiffs will be to show the degree of violation of the underlying housing code. The absence of a rental housing license in and of itself does not establish the right to recover rent paid.
For the same reasons set forth in this Part IV.B., we spoke too broadly in Golt to the extent that Golt rests the recovery of rent paid on the application to the licensing of rental housing of a per se rule derived from the occupational licensing cases. Golt did not discuss, or cite, Schloss. The result in Golt rests on the assumption that the premises were uninhabitable. Thus, the difference in rental value between the Golt premises as represented and their condition in fact was one hundred percent of the rent paid.
V.
We agree with the Court of Special Appeals, although for somewhat different reasons, that the summary judgment in favor of the CitaraManises was improperly entered by the trial court. We shall order that the case be remanded to the trial court for further proceedings to determine whether the tenants are able to prove that they suffered “actual injury or loss,” justifying recovery under § 13-408(a) of the CPA, or that the landlords’ loss of all rent would be proportional to the purpose sought to be achieved by the licensing scheme.
JUDGEMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED; CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH DIRECTIONS TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR HOWARD COUNTY IN FAVOR OF THE PETITIONERS AND TO REMAND THE CASE TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS; COSTS IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AND IN THIS COURT TO BE PAID BY THE PETITIONERS.
Dissenting Opinion ROBERT M. BELL, J., in which ELDRIDGE, J. joins.

. The Howard County Code in relevant part provided:
“Sec. 13.100. Housing code; incorporation by reference.
“The Housing Code of Howard County adopted by the board of county commissioners on December 22, 1964, as amended, is incorporated herein by reference.
"Sec. 13.101. Enforcement authority.
“(a) The department of public works is hereby given the power and authority to enter into, inspefct and examine all buildings, *146improvements, real and leasehold property and vehicles of every description, after giving the owner thereof prior written notice of five (5) days, to ascertain their condition for health, cleanliness and safety____
"Sec. 13.102. Licensing and fees.
"The director of public works is hereby authorized and empowered to fix a schedule of fees or charges to cover the cost of inspection and for the issuance of a rental housing license for leasing, renting or letting of any buildings or structures, or parts thereof, as dwelling units for human habitation in Howard county____ Fee schedules for such inspection and licensing services will be approved by the council by resolution at the recommendation of the director of public works. No building or structure, or part thereof, shall be leased, rented or let or subleased, subrented or sublet without first obtaining a rental housing license from the department of public works and paying the requisite fee or charge therefor____
“Sec. 13.103. Penalties.
"Any person, firm, corporation, or officer of a corporation who violates any provision adopted or enacted pursuant to the authority of this subtitle shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1000. No conviction hereunder shall in any manner relieve any person of any other penalties or the necessity of compliance with all other . applicable rules, regulations and laws. Alternatively or in addition to and concurrent with all other remedies, provisions adopted or enacted pursuant to this subtitle may be enforced with civil penalties pursuant to title 24, ‘Civil Penalties,’ of the Howard County Code. A first violation shall be a class D offense. Subsequent violations shall be class B offenses____”

. In Plaintiffs Reply Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment, the CitaraManises argued that “the condition of the property is irrelevant and not material to a cause of action under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), unless the misrepresentation at issue was regarding the condition of the property or the Plaintiffs were seeking damages for deficiencies, which they are not.”

. The CitaraManises argue that had they known of the lack of license that they would not have entered into the lease, or paid their landlord any rent; however, the facts indicate that they were satisfied with the condition of the premises.

. An exception is Vermont's consumer protection act, Vt.Stat.Ann. tit. 9, §§ 2453, 2461 (1984), which permits an aggrieved consumer to recover damages, or the consideration or the value of the consideration given by the consumer, reasonable attorney’s fees, and exemplary damages, but does not require proof of actual injury or damage. See Peabody v. P.J.’s Auto Village, Inc., 153 Vt. 55, 58-59, 569 A.2d 460, 463 (1989).

. The Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass.Gen.L. ch. 93A, § 9 (1985), was amended in 1979 by deleting the requirement that private plaintiffs show some "loss of money or property." See Leardi, 394 Mass, at 158 n. 9, 474 N.E.2d at 1100 n. 9.

. “Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of money or property ... as a result of ... a [prohibited] method, act or practice ... may bring an action ... to recover actual damages.” Conn.Gen.Stat. § 42-110g(a).