Greystar hit with second lawsuit over alleged ‘junk fees’

Greystar Real Estate Partners, the nation’s largest residential property management firm, is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it imposed illegal and excessive fees on tenants across California.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, accuses Greystar of deceptive business practices by charging tenants mandatory fees beyond advertised rental rates.

These charges — often for routine services like trash collection and pest control — were allegedly tacked on after renters paid application fees and visited units.

According to the complaint, these so-called “junk fees” regularly total more than $500 per tenant annually.

Tenants claim hidden fees inflate rent

“These fees aren’t optional, and they’re not clearly disclosed,” the complaint argues. “They’re part of a business model that shifts costs onto renters while boosting Greystar’s profits.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say these extra charges violate multiple state laws, including the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the California Honest Pricing Act, the False Advertising Law, and the Unfair Competition Law.

“Nobody should have their desire to place a roof over their head used as a tool to extort illegal and unnecessary fees,” said attorney Jeffrey Newsome of Varnell & Warwick. “It is essential that renters have the opportunity to stand up against these unlawful practices.”

The lawsuit seeks to represent every California resident who — within the past six years — was charged fees by Greystar that exceeded their advertised rental amount.

Attorneys allege that Greystar’s fee model results in tens of millions of dollars in unlawful revenue annually.

“The bottom line is that what Greystar is doing is not just deceptive, unfair, and predatory, it’s also illegal,” said Wesley Griffith, of Cutter Law P.C., another attorney representing the plaintiffs.

Spotlight on hidden fees, FTC case

A 2024 White House report estimated that so-called “junk fees” cost Americans more than $90 billion annually. Federal officials have pushed for increased transparency and regulation of such charges across multiple industries, though it’s unclear if the Trump administration will continue the initiative.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the waning days of the Biden administration took legal action on the matter against Greystar.

That complaint was filed in January with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and the State of Colorado is also a plaintiff in the case.

“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,” Greystar stated in January. “The complaint is based on gross misrepresentations of the facts and fundamentally flawed legal theories. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit.”