PROTECTING TENANT Rights

The U.S. Department of Justice late Wednesday stepped into a massive antitrust lawsuit filed by dozens of tenants who are accusing a tech company’s apartment software of helping landlords collude to inflate rents.

The DOJ action comes after a ProPublica investigation last year found that Texas-based software provider RealPage used algorithms to recommend rents to landlords across the country to maximize profits — a practice that experts said may violate antitrust laws.A ProPublica investigation last year about RealPage’s rent-setting software led to federal lawsuits asserting inflated apartment prices.

In throwing its weight behind plaintiffs in the price-fixing case, the Justice Department waded into a fraught corner of federal antitrust law that could have a wide-reaching impact not only on the way businesses use technology to drive profits but also on the marketplace consumers confront.

In the past, collusion happened with “a formal handshake in a clandestine meeting,” they wrote.

“Algorithms are the new frontier,” federal prosecutors said in their filing. “And, given the amount of information an algorithm can access and digest, this new frontier poses an even greater anticompetitive threat than the last.”

...The DOJ filing comes after the District of Columbia’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, announced earlier this month that his office was also suing RealPage and 14 of the biggest landlords in the city “for colluding to illegally raise rents for tens of thousands of DC residents.”

Los Angeles tenants living at Forty55 Lofts, a Greystar Property filed lawsuits, alleging among other violations, environmental toxins are present in the apartments, impacting the tenants health.  

Court filings indicate Greystar was Ordered by the Los Angeles Superior Court to test.   Indoor Air Quality tests confirmed excessive levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's), including Formaldehyde, Ethylene dichloride (1,2-Dichlorethane), Acetonitrile, Ethylbenzene, all known carcinogens by the State of California and listed on the Prop65 chemical list.  The Prop65 Notice cites one of the sources of the toxins is from the cabinets, among other sources and  confirms the environmental toxins are above industry and safe harbor guidelines according to the World Health Organization (WHO), California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), US Green Building Council Leadership in Environment and Energy Design (LEED), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), US Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

The civil complaints allege, Civil Code Violations, Tortious Breach of Warranty of Habitability,  Breach of Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment, Nuisance, Violation of California Business and Prof Code, Negligence.

https://oag.ca.gov/prop65/60-day-notice-search-results?combine=&combine_1=&field_prop65_defendant_value=greystar&date_filter%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=&date_filter%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=&field_prop65_product_value=&sort_by=field_prop65_id_value&items_per_page=20

Residents living in SB Buildings located in Downtown Los Angeles have taken to social media to document the horrors of living in a building being neglected by its owner/management company, Greystar. 

SB Main, located across the street from the Cecil Hotel, was deemed uninhabitable by the City Sept. 1.

Residents have posted photos inside of elevators with no working lights, mold infested units due to lack of repairs and leaks, busted bags of concrete left in the stairwell, and a host of other issues. The property management company is giving the impression they are intentionally driving residents out with their continued apathy and neglect to the issues.

A sickening Instagram page @sbbuildingsdtla is documenting the horrors the tenants of “SB Main” aka Board of Trade (Curlett & Beelman, 1929) are suffering since Greystar bought the neglected National Register landmark from Barry Shy. This is a crime scene.

https://2urbangirls.com/2022/09/2022-09-greystar-property-management-neglecting-dtla-property-city-deems-buildings-uninhabitable/

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Skyhouse Uptown is marketed as a luxury set of towers, however, one of its tenants told WCNC Charlotte he's had nothing but trouble with his unit since moving in January of 2022.

Shermaine Leggions moved to the Queen City for a job and signed a lease at the Greystar-managed property without stepping foot in the apartment. "The pictures, the video, they looked wonderful," he said. 

After about five months, the property and casualty insurance agent said he came home to find water pooling from the water heater closet.

"It took a little while before maintenance came," Leggions said. "I'm used to an immediate, urgent response to something like flooding because of all the implications -- standing water, mold, mildew. So, usually, I anticipate someone coming in almost immediately to stop the flow, to extract water, to treat where water may have been standing. It's been a lackadaisical approach from management."

He said maintenance eventually showed up and stopped the water flow, but that was it.

"There were no fans placed, there was no water extraction -- not until I requested that," Leggions said. "It's absolutely ridiculous."

According to the N.C. Attorney Generals Office they have 40 complaints filed against Greystar Property Management.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/charlotte-tenant-lawsuit-luxury-apartment-poor-maintenance-management/275-1a058707-8fc7-4919-a63b-b0941266b033

Real estate company Greystar agreed to pay nearly $4.7 million to resolve class action lawsuit claims surrounding improper eviction and fee practices in North Carolina.

There are two classes included in the settlement. The Collection Letter Class is made up of people who resided in a Greystar property in North Carolina between May 10, 2014, and June 25, 2018, and received a collection letter. 

The Eviction Fee Class is made up of residents of North Carolina Greystar properties between May 10, 2014, and June 25, 2018, and who were charged and paid eviction fees.

Greystar may have taken advantage of its tenants with unfair debt collection practices, according to a class action lawsuit against a number of related companies. The Greystar class action claims the rental company violated North Carolina law by attempting to collect certain fees, penalties and other charges. 

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/closed-settlements/greystar-improper-fee-eviction-practices-4-7m-class-action-settlement/

Daley et al. v. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, et al., No. 2:18-CV-00381-SMJ, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Anyone who applied to rent any property in Washington state where the rental property, on the date of the application, was owned or managed by the defendants or where the defendants were a landlord of the property as defined by RCW 59.18.030(15), and who paid any tenant screening fee to the defendants or their affiliates between June 9, 2016, and Aug. 13, 2020, is considered part of the Class.

Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit had accused Greystar of charging tenant screening fees without providing those prospective tenants with the required disclosures in advance; this was allegedly a violation of Washington law.

The defendants deny all allegations of wrongdoing.

Rather than the Court ruling in one party’s favor, both parties have agreed to the settlement to avoid the cost and risk of trial.

The Court granted this settlement final approval Feb. 1, 2022. If no appeals are received, the settlement administrator will begin issuing awards.

Apartment applicants in Washington who paid Greystar Real Estate Partners screening fees may be eligible to benefit from a $2.5 million class action settlement.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/closed-settlements/greystar-tenant-application-fees-2-5m-class-action-settlement/

Class Action Claims Greystar Real Estate Partners’ ‘Unchecked’ Late Fee, Penalty Practices Violate California Law

A proposed class action challenges what it calls a “late fee scheme” allegedly perpetrated by Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC whereby the apartment and student housing operator charges tenants “numerous unrelenting fees and penalties” that overstep California law.

According to the 17-page case, Greystar, the largest owner and operator of apartments in the U.S. and second-largest owner and operator of student housing, takes advantage of the “power imbalance” that exists between it and tenants by assessing illegal late fees, utility fees, utility “administration” fees, and other unlawful charges and penalties in order to “squeeze all it can” from renters.

“Defendant knows it has virtually unchecked power to collect whatever fee it wants, when it wants, no matter how illegal it may be,” the lawsuit says. “This is because the system that Defendant deployed is protected by the threat of eviction.”

Zeff v. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC

https://www.classaction.org/news/class-action-claims-greystar-real-estate-partners-unchecked-late-fee-penalty-practices-violate-california-law

A class action claims 10 property management companies "routinely and deliberately" prevented those 50 and older from viewing Facebook ads for rental properties in the Washington D.C. metro area.

Ten property management companies are in the crosshairs of a proposed class action that alleges they “routinely and deliberately” exclude older people from viewing Facebook advertisements for dozens of apartment complexes in the Washington D.C. metro area.

The 55-page lawsuit, filed in Maryland federal court, claims the below defendants have knowingly and overtly aimed to eliminate an entire group of people—those older than 50—from receiving housing advertisements via Facebook in violation of District and county civil rights and consumer protection laws:

Housing Rights Initiative et al. v. Bozzuto Management Company et al.

https://www.classaction.org/news/property-management-cos.-deliberately-kept-older-renters-from-seeing-facebook-housing-ads-class-action-alleges

A countless number of complaints have been posted online by Greystar tenants who’ve had issues with the property management company.

In fact, a website called GreystarNightmare.com was launched seemingly in 2015 and is maintained by members of the Seattle Solidarity Network, a volunteer group of working people who believe in standing up for fellow workers’ rights as they pertain to employment and housing matters, as well as “other problems caused by the greed of the rich and powerful.” The site warns consumers to “not rent from Greystar” and features scathing tenant reviews from across the web.

Stories included on the website, along with other online complaints, detail high rents, excessive rent hikes, unreturned security deposits, hidden fees, poor living conditions and more.

A sample of online complaints from Greystar tenants can be seen at:

https://www.classaction.org/greystar-rent-hike-lawsuits

Torres vs. Greystar was initially filed by a participant in the Greystar 401(k) Plan against the property management firm, alleging it breached its fiduciary duties ERISA by allowing excessive administrative and investment fees to be charged. 

According to the complaint, for every year between 2013 and 2017, the administrative fees charged to plan participants were greater than 90% of peer plan fees when fees are calculated as cost per participant. And for every year between 2013 and 2017 but one, the administrative fees charged to plan participants were greater than 90% of peer plan fees when fees are calculated as a percent of total assets. 

The lawsuit also alleged that as of December 31, 2017, the fees for the investment options then in the plan were up to three-times more expensive than available alternatives in the same investment style.

https://www.planadviser.com/individual-arbitration-ordered-greystar-erisa-lawsuit/

Housekeeper Fired Because of Her Pregnancy

BALTIMORE – A Rockville, Md., apartment complex violated  federal law when it fired a housekeeper soon after she disclosed that she was  pregnant, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a  lawsuit.

The EEOC  charges that after a housekeeper, Amada Lucero, informed Greystar Management  Services, L.P., that she was pregnant, the company required her to bring in  medical documentation confirming that she was pregnant and clearing her to work  with cleaning chemicals. Even though  Lucero had been performing the job satisfactorily, and was medically cleared to  perform her regular job duties without restrictions, Greystar abruptly fired  her because of her pregnancy, the EEOC contends in its lawsuit, filed in U.S.  District Court of the District of Maryland, Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-02789.

Greystar Management Services, LP, will pay $25,000 and furnish significant remedial relief to settle a federal pregnancy discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/greystar-management-services-will-pay-2-86011/

https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-greystar-management-services-pregnancy-discrimination

Federal Agency Charges Employee Given Negative Reference for Filing Sexual Harassment Complaint

PHOENIX -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that it is suing Greystar Holdings, Inc., doing business as Greystar Real Estate Partners and Greystar Properties, charging that the company unlawfully retaliated against an employee for filing a sexual harassment complaint. Greystar Holdings is an investment, development, and property management company that operates in real estate markets across the country including Phoenix, Arizona.

According to the EEOC, after the employee filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment, the complaint was settled, and the employee voluntarily resigned her employment. When she applied for employment elsewhere, however, she was informed that Greystar had provided a negative reference and recommended against hiring her because of her sexual harassment complaint.

https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-greystar-holdings-greystar-real-estate-partners-retaliation