The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against property manager Greystar Thursday, accusing the Charleston, S.C.-based company of charging consumers hidden fees adding up to “hundreds of millions of dollars” since at least 2019.

Greystar manages properties across the U.S. including in the Milwaukee and Madison areas.

“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 in a Jan. 16 press release.

The lawsuit was filed alongside the State of Colorado.

The hidden fees “allegedly range from tens to hundreds of dollars a month,” and include utility fees, “valet trash” fees, package handling fees and more, according to the FTC’s press release.

The agency also alleged that tenants “often have not discovered the fees until after they have signed a lease or moved in.”

“Simply put, consumers cannot lease a Greystar-managed apartment by paying only the advertised price,” the Jan. 16 complaint alleges.

To read the FTC’s full complaint, click here.

The property management company manages more than 800,000 apartments across the U.S., the release said.

The FTC’s lawsuit comes days after the U.S. Department of Justice and several other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against six of the largest landlords in the U.S., including Greystar. The DOJ complaint accuses the property management companies of sharing non-public rent data in a software system, causing tenants to lose bargaining power.

How many properties does Greystar manage in Wisconsin?

Greystar manages several properties around the Milwaukee area, according to its website, including the The Lydell in Glendale, Deer Run in Brown Deer and Evoni in Milwaukee. It also manages two properties in Madison.

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