Greystar Responds to FTC Lawsuit
Press Release
January 16, 2025
CHARLESTON – January 16, 2025 – Greystar responded to the civil lawsuit that was filed today by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
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 complaint is based on gross misrepresentations of the facts and fundamentally flawed legal theories. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit.
The FTC's complaint targets a longstanding industrywide practice of advertising base rent to potential residents. The idea that this is done with the goal of hiding fees from consumers is patently false. No resident at a Greystar-managed community pays a fee they have not seen and agreed to in their lease.
Greystar, the rest of the industry, and consumers all focus on base rent because it is the standard unit of comparison that people have used for decades to evaluate and compare apartments. This is also why the many technology systems that market apartments are not set up to display all applicable fees or calculate total monthly leasing price in their advertisements.
The FTC, after promising rules to help bring standardization to the industry, has provided zero guidance. Instead, last month, it carved the rental housing industry out from its Fees Rule after initially proposing to include it. Our view, which the FTC implicitly acknowledges by proposing a rule in the first place, is that the most effective path to achieving uniform and consistent fee disclosures is through clear regulatory guidelines for our industry. It is disappointing that the FTC has failed to show any leadership in this area.
By contrast, Greystar has worked hard to lead the industry toward improved fee disclosures, continuing even after the FTC carved out the rental housing industry from its rule. These efforts include launching property-specific community fee guides that detail all potential fees residents might encounter, developing web-based pricing calculators whenever it is in our control, and encouraging property management system vendors and internet listing services to improve and customize their capabilities.
We also constructively engaged with the FTC to help it advance its vision of how apartments should be advertised. Greystar was willing to agree to, among other things, display the total monthly leasing price, inclusive of base rent and mandatory fees, whenever within Greystar’s control.
We are confident that, in time, the courts will recognize this regulatory overreach and rule in our favor. In the meantime, Greystar will continue doing everything we can to move the industry forward and improve the resident experience in our communities.
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 complaint is based on gross misrepresentations of the facts and fundamentally flawed legal theories. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit.
The FTC's complaint targets a longstanding industrywide practice of advertising base rent to potential residents. The idea that this is done with the goal of hiding fees from consumers is patently false. No resident at a Greystar-managed community pays a fee they have not seen and agreed to in their lease.
Greystar, the rest of the industry, and consumers all focus on base rent because it is the standard unit of comparison that people have used for decades to evaluate and compare apartments. This is also why the many technology systems that market apartments are not set up to display all applicable fees or calculate total monthly leasing price in their advertisements.
The FTC, after promising rules to help bring standardization to the industry, has provided zero guidance. Instead, last month, it carved the rental housing industry out from its Fees Rule after initially proposing to include it. Our view, which the FTC implicitly acknowledges by proposing a rule in the first place, is that the most effective path to achieving uniform and consistent fee disclosures is through clear regulatory guidelines for our industry. It is disappointing that the FTC has failed to show any leadership in this area.
By contrast, Greystar has worked hard to lead the industry toward improved fee disclosures, continuing even after the FTC carved out the rental housing industry from its rule. These efforts include launching property-specific community fee guides that detail all potential fees residents might encounter, developing web-based pricing calculators whenever it is in our control, and encouraging property management system vendors and internet listing services to improve and customize their capabilities.
We also constructively engaged with the FTC to help it advance its vision of how apartments should be advertised. Greystar was willing to agree to, among other things, display the total monthly leasing price, inclusive of base rent and mandatory fees, whenever within Greystar’s control.
We are confident that, in time, the courts will recognize this regulatory overreach and rule in our favor. In the meantime, Greystar will continue doing everything we can to move the industry forward and improve the resident experience in our communities.