The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reportedly planning to sue Greystar Actual Property Companions, the largest apartment landlord within the U.S., for allegedly charging tenants thousands and thousands of {dollars} value of hidden obligatory charges.
The charges ranged from tens to lots of of {dollars} per thirty days per tenant, added on prime of lease, in line with a Bloomberg report. They have been associated to companies like pest management, trash elimination, and tenant background checks.
In accordance with Bloomberg, the FTC is predicted to allege that Greystar falsely marketed rental costs with out these charges, and solely informed renters about them after they crammed out an inquiry kind, paid an utility charge, or, in some cases, paid a holding deposit. Greystar might face the lawsuit as quickly as this week.
“Greystar has labored arduous to steer the trade towards improved charge disclosures and has taken proactive steps over the past a number of years to advertise higher charge transparency,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to the Wall Street Journal. “The simplest path to attaining uniform and constant charge disclosures throughout the trade is thru clear regulatory pointers which don’t but exist within the rental house.”
If filed, this lawsuit would not be the primary federal motion towards Greystar. Earlier this month, the U.S. Division of Justice expanded its August lawsuit towards actual property software program firm RealPage to incorporate Greystar and 5 different main landlords.
The lawsuit alleges that the landlords shared confidential data with RealPage to align and artificially inflate rents for thousands and thousands of tenants.
Associated: The DOJ Expands Its Lawsuit Against AI Software Company RealPage to Include 6 Major Landlords
In accordance with the 115-page complaint, RealPage collected detailed details about lease costs and lease phrases from landlords who would in any other case be opponents. The software program firm then inputted the data into its AI-based algorithm, which churned out suggestions for the landlords about tips on how to worth leases.
“We’re dissatisfied that the DOJ added us and different operators to their lawsuit towards RealPage,” Greystar wrote in a statement final week. “Greystar has and can conduct its enterprise with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar interact in any anti-competitive practices.”
Greystar’s website states that it has over 700,000 rental models and $23.5 billion in fairness beneath administration within the U.S.
Associated: Is One Company to Blame for Soaring Rental Prices in the U.S.?
