In the final days of the Biden administration, the Federal Trade Commission is setting its eye on the country’s largest apartment landlord and the hidden fees it’s allegedly imposing on tenants.
The government’s antitrust enforcer is preparing a lawsuit against South Carolina-based Greystar Real Estate Partners, the Wall Street Journal reported. The possibility of a settlement between the two sides remains.
The civil lawsuit, which has yet to be filed, would allege Greystar engaged in deceptive pricing practices and did not properly disclose fees to prospective tenants on listings. The alleged hidden fees pertain to things such as pest control, trash services and tenant background checks.
A representative of the landlord told the Journal that Greystar has taken “proactive steps” towards greater transparency regarding fees and pointed towards a need for “clear regulatory guidelines which do not yet exist in the rental space.”
The FTC recently finalized a rule on hidden fees that required “upfront disclosure of total price including fees,” violations of which would carry potential civil penalties. But that rule was aimed at hotel and live-event ticketing sectors, not the multifamily sector.
Greystar has already faced lawsuits from tenants over alleged junk fees. A year ago, a former Greystar tenant in Colorado filed a lawsuit alleging hidden charges on things like pest control. The plaintiff sought class-action certification that would apply to Greystar tenants across the state.
If the FTC lawsuit goes forward, however, it would be the first time a multifamily landlord would face a formal case from the government regarding hidden fees. It’s possible the incoming Trump administration would drop the case.
The FTC has gone after single-family rental landlords before. In September, Invitation Homes agreed to pay $48 million to settle a case regarding hidden costs. A three-year investigation from the antitrust agency found the Dallas-based company collected tens of millions of dollars in hidden costs from renters between 2021 and 2023.
Greystar is on the defensive with another arm of the federal government. Last week, Bob Faith’s firm was one of six major landlords added to an amended civil antitrust lawsuit being waged by the Department of Justice against RealPage. The lawsuit alleges RealPage’s software enables landlords to share pricing data in a way that leads to coordinated rent-setting, resulting in inflated rental prices.