(The Center Square) – The Colorado Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against apartment rental company Greystar for charging “junk fees.”
The lawsuit was filed in Denver federal district court against Greystar, which is one of the largest providers of rental housing in Colorado managing approximately 45,000 units.
“I will continue fighting for fair treatment of all Colorado renters,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The lawsuit alleges that Greystar has, since 2019, “used deceptive advertising to entice consumers into applying for rental housing, and then bilked those consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by charging ‘Hidden Fees.’”
The state is joined by the Federal Trade Commission in the lawsuit, which did its own investigation into the fees. The investigation found that Greystar failed to pre-disclose “mandatory recurring fees charged to tenants.”
“The FTC is suing Greystar for deceptively advertising low monthly rents only to later saddle tenants with hundreds of dollars of hidden junk fees,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC should continue its work taking on corporate landlords that use illegal tactics to jack up rent, exploit tenants, and deprive Americans of safe and affordable housing.”
Greystar’s actions are a violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, according to the Attorney General’s office. If the company loses the lawsuit, it could face a permanent injunction, monetary relief and civil penalties.
“To the extent that other corporate landlords are not advertising their all-in pricing and are engaging in similar tactics, they are on notice that such conduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in Colorado,” Weiser said.
Greystar has responded to the lawsuit, stating that “the complaint is based on gross misrepresentations of the facts and fundamentally flawed legal theories.”
“No resident at a Greystar-managed community pays a fee they have not seen and agreed to in their lease,” it added.
This is not the only rental lawsuit Colorado is currently engaged in.
Earlier this month, the Attorney General’s office joined a federal lawsuit with the Justice Department and a coalition of other states to sue six of the nation’s largest landlords for “pricing schemes.” Greystar was one of the six.
“I will continue standing up for fair treatment of renters, challenging unfair practices by corporate landlords, and protecting those responsible companies who don’t cut corners,” said Weiser, who is currently running for governor.