(The Center Square) – The Colorado Attorney General’s office has reached a $24 million settlement with apartment rental company Greystar for it allegedly charging “junk fees.”
The lawsuit was filed in Denver federal district court in January against Greystar, which is one of the largest providers of rental housing in Colorado managing approximately 45,000 units.
“Addressing deceptive and hidden fees that trick consumers out of their hard-earned dollars is a top priority for our department,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “In this case, we took action against Greystar for doing just that and have held them accountable for their conduct, which jacked up rents. Other landlords are on notice that cheating tenants won’t be tolerated in Colorado.”
The lawsuit alleged 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 was joined by the Federal Trade Commission on 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.”
Greystar’s actions were a violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, according to the attorney general’s office.
“After attracting prospective tenants with deceptively low rental prices, Greystar failed to adequately disclose mandatory recurring fees charged to tenants for things such as pest control, valet trash service, package concierge service, utility administration fees, and certain amenities,” the office said. “The prospective tenant often could not see the actual fees or the total amount they were required to pay until they received the lease and usually after they paid a non-refundable application fee.”
Initially, when Greystar responded to the lawsuit, it called the accusations “gross misrepresentations” and “fundamentally flawed.”
Greystar did agree to a settlement, though, which will require it to disclose upfront the total monthly leasing price, disclose all fees or costs, the nature and purpose of the fee or cost, the amount of the fee or cost, and whether the fee or cost is mandatory. The company will also not be allowed to require tenants to make an initial payment or deposit without disclosing all pricing information upfront.
To ensure compliance with these requirements, Greystar has been directed to participate in compliance reporting and other record keeping.
Of the $24 million, Colorado will be receiving just $1 million as monetary relief. That money will be held and spent by Weiser’s office.
Colorado has been at the forefront of challenging these so-called “junk fees,” which opponents say add to already rising housing costs. Just in the 2025 session, the state’s legislature passed a comprehensive legislative package in an effort to address those costs.
House Bill 1090 is one of the bills that were a part of that package. Titled “Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices,” it requires sellers to clearly disclose the total price of goods and services, and restricts which fees landlords may charge.
No Republicans voted to support the legislation, which received unanimous approval from Democrats.
This is the state’s second settlement with Greystar in the past few weeks. Just in November, it announced a different proposed settlement of $7 million for an alleged “anticompetitive scheme.” Colorado would receive a little over $1 million of the total amount of that settlement.
As a part of that lawsuit, it also reached a settlement earlier this year with rental company Cortland.
