“Greystar misled customers by promoting low hire costs after which including necessary charges on the finish of the gross sales course of,” mentioned Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Shopper Safety.
“At a time when Individuals are struggling to seek out affordable housing, the FTC is targeted on monitoring the housing market to make sure that opponents are meaningfully competing on worth and that customers obtain clear pricing.”
In January 2025, the FTC and Colorado alleged that Greystar violated the FTC Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Colorado Shopper Safety Act by misrepresenting rental prices.
In keeping with the criticism, Greystar marketed deceptively low costs that excluded mounted, necessary month-to-month charges fairly than exhibiting the full quantity renters have been required to pay.
Beneath the settlement, $23 million will probably be used to refund customers affected by Greystar’s practices.
“Greystar has lengthy championed transparency within the rental housing {industry},” the corporate said Tuesday. “Lately, Greystar has launched industry-leading clear pricing initiatives and digital instruments, and inspired know-how companions to strengthen their very own capabilities. Greystar’s investments and management in these areas present that we’re nicely positioned to assist our purchasers in assembly evolving FTC and state-level necessities.”
Provisions additionally require Greystar to chorus from misrepresenting rental costs or charges; to prominently disclose whole month-to-month leasing prices when promoting base hire or partial pricing; and to obviously record all charges — together with their goal and whether or not they’re necessary — earlier than accumulating any fee akin to a nonrefundable software price.
The fee voted 2-0 to authorize submitting the ultimate order within the U.S. District Court docket for the District of Colorado.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson mentioned he’s directing employees to start drafting a rule to deal with “unfair or misleading charges in rental housing.”
“I applaud the Fee employees’s arduous work in investigating and litigating this necessary
case, and in acquiring a robust decision for American customers,” Ferguson mentioned.
“However the Fee’s work on this case has revealed that the issue involving deceptive pricing representations in America’s rental markets is just not restricted to Greystar, and as we speak’s order is not going to totally resolve this downside.”
Extra authorized motion
Final month, a $7 million settlement agreement with Greystar was introduced by California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta — a part of a coalition of 9 state attorneys basic pursuing antitrust claims tied to RealPage software program.
The settlement requires Greystar to cease utilizing software program that employs competitively delicate info to align rents, and to cooperate within the ongoing prosecution of RealPage and different landlords.
Greystar just lately settled a separate class-action lawsuit associated to RealPage software program, with that payout totaling $50 million.
