The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Colorado have sued the country’s largest apartment landlord, accusing Greystar of gouging residents with hidden fees.
In a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Greystar is alleged to have deceived residents about monthly rent costs through hidden fees, costing consumers living in Greystar properties hundreds of millions of dollars since at least 2019. Fees are tacked on to advertised prices, with renters often not finding out about them until after signing a lease or moving in, the complaint alleges.
“The FTC is suing Greystar for deceptively advertising low monthly rents only to later saddle tenants with hundreds of dollars of hidden junk fees,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement. “The FTC should continue its work taking on corporate landlords that use illegal tactics to jack up rent, exploit tenants, and deprive Americans of safe and affordable housing.”
The property owner and manager fired back in a statement Thursday after the latest complaint was filed, vowing to “vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit” and saying the firm has been an industry leader toward improved fee disclosures.
“Rather than working with Greystar to help drive meaningful improvements for consumers in the rental housing industry, the FTC has opted for headline-grabbing litigation in the waning days of the current administration,” the statement said. “The complaint is based on gross misrepresentations of the facts and fundamentally flawed legal theories.”
Khan, who has helped lead President Joe Biden’s regulatory actions against major corporations, is set to be replaced in the coming days by president-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the position, FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson.
Regardless of how the FTC case plays out under a new presidential administration, it adds to the legal woes of Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar, which earlier this month was among six large landlords sued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an antitrust lawsuit against real estate data firm RealPage. That case alleges that companies using RealPage engaged in price-setting that harmed renters.
Greystar manages and operates nearly $315 billion in real estate in about 250 markets throughout the world, according to the company, managing more than 1 million units and beds globally.
The company says it is the largest operator of apartments in the U.S., with nearly 947,000 units and beds.
Its portfolio includes traditional apartments and student and senior housing. The firm also invests in other property sectors such as logistics and life sciences.
The FTC’s plans to sue Greystar previously were reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Damages sought
Unexpected fees add up to tens or hundreds of dollars monthly beyond the base rent, the complaint alleges.
“Because of Greystar’s deceptive advertising and hidden fees, tenants are on the hook in their lease for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more than they anticipated that their apartment would cost,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in the FTC statement. “Through their actions, Greystar is thwarting apartment hunters from comparison shopping and choosing a home that fits within their budget. To the extent that other corporate landlords are not advertising their all-in pricing and are engaging in similar tactics, they are on notice that such conduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in Colorado.”
The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction against what it describes as violations of the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, while seeking unspecified monetary damages, potentially including penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the CCPA.
Greystar said in the statement that there is a longstanding industry practice of advertising base rent to potential residents, adding: “The idea that this is done with the goal of hiding fees from consumers is patently false.”
The firm ranked No. 1 on the National Multifamily Housing Council’s list of the largest U.S. apartment landlords in 2024 with 108,566 owned units.