Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has announced three settlements with Greystar, the nation’s largest multi-family rental property manager, and two apartment complexes owned or operated by Greystar.
The Greystar general settlement officially adopts the injunctive relief negotiated in connection with the FTC and Colorado v. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, et al. In that settlement, Greystar agreed to pay $23 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with an anticipated $1,500,000 in restitution going to Arizona consumers. The settlement also requires the company to clearly and conspicuously display total monthly leasing prices and mandatory fees.
The other settlements resolve Greystar’s liability for junk fees charged at The Julia and Avana Gilbert apartment complexes in violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, and include a combined payment of $100,000 for consumer restitution.
“Greystar misled consumers by advertising deceptively low rental prices that omitted a host of mandatory fees, which sometimes amounted to hundreds of extra dollars each month,” Mayes said. “At a time when Arizonans are struggling to find affordable housing, my office is committed to making sure consumers aren’t duped into leases that are substantially more expensive than what they bargained for.”
The FTC sued Greystar on behalf of tenants nationwide. The resulting $23 million federal fund settlement is managed directly by the FTC. However, two states, Colorado and Arizona, took extra, independent legal action alongside or separate from the federal government. Colorado received $1 million for its residents and Mayes negotiated a carve-out guaranteeing that $1.5 million of the FTC’s fund is earmarked explicitly for Arizona residents.
Tenants in other states will receive funds directly from the FTC.
