Greystar accused of violating fair housing laws

Greystar, the largest apartment landlord in the nation, has been accused by a watchdog group of violating state fair housing laws by denying Section 8 vouchers.

The South Carolina-based firm has systematically refused to accept Section 8 vouchers in several states where that is illegal, according to watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative, citing complaints filed to state agencies and attorneys general, the New York Times reported.

The group trained “testers” to pose as prospective tenants, who since October called Greystar offices from coast to coast asking about available apartments, according to the New York-based nonprofit.

Each tester then asked if they could use the federal housing vouchers to pay the rent. Over and over, they said, Greystar employees told them that vouchers wouldn’t be accepted, or imposed illegal requirements on using them.

Federal law makes participation in Section 8, officially known as Housing Choice, voluntary. But numerous states require that landlords accept the vouchers.

Housing Rights Initiative cited Greystar for more than 100 violations of state fair housing laws in Maryland, Hawaii, New Jersey, Michigan, California and Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

“Greystar has been committing mass civil rights violations at a scale unlike anything our organization has ever seen,” Aaron Carr, executive director of Housing Rights Initiative, told the Times.

One tester told a Greystar employee in College Park, Maryland that she had a Section 8 voucher and asked if she could use that to help pay her rent.

“No, you wouldn’t be able to use it,” the Greystar employee said, according to a recording of the call shared with the Times. “We can’t accept any vouchers of any kind.”

Greystar said the company provides training to its employees and expects them to comply with all applicable laws. “Greystar remains committed to fair housing practices in everything we do,” the company said in a statement.

The company manages more than a million apartment units, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

The allegations that it had violated fair housing laws in at least six states come seven months after Greystar agreed to a $24 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Colorado over deceptive advertising practices that did not include mandatory fees.

Greystar said the agreement included no admission of wrongdoing and that its practice of advertising the base rent was fully consistent with longstanding industrywide practice, according to the Times.

The company isn’t the first to be accused of denying Section 8 vouchers.

In December, Capital & Main, a Los Angeles-based news outlet, also employed testers against Jamison, one of the city’s largest landlords, which rejected vouchers at many of its properties. The real estate firm blamed Tripalink, a master tenant then managing the apartments.

– Dana Bartholomew