Greystar manages over 2,700 apartment units in Central Massachusetts, including 621 in Worcester.
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DOJ proposes settlement over rent-fixing allegations with firm managing 2,700+ Central Mass. apartments
Photo | Matt Wright
The Worcester multi-family development Alta on the Row under construction
Greystar, a South Carolina-based real estate firm that in Central Massachusetts manages more than 2,700 apartment units and owns three residential complexes, has reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations it was part of a rent-fixing scheme.
The settlement comes following a January complaint from the DOJ alleging some of the nation’s largest multi-family property owners and managers coordinated to set rental prices.
If approved by the court, the settlement would block Greystar from using any anti-competitive algorithms to generate rent price recommendations, require it to refrain from sharing competitively-sensitive information with competitors, and accept a court-appointed monitor if it uses a third-party pricing algorithm not already approved by the settlement.
The settlement requires Greystar to cooperate with the federal government’s monopolization claims against RealPage, the Texas-based software firm that was the original target of the DOJ complaint. The proposed agreement requires Greystar to refrain from attending RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords.
The settlement does not impose a monetary penalty on Greystar and does not provide relief to renters impacted by price fixing.
“The Trump-Vance Administration is committed to promoting competition to help working class Americans pay for life’s necessities — including rent,” Abigail Slater, assistant attorney general of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, said in an Aug. 8 press release announcing the settlement. “Whether in a smoke-filled room or through an algorithm, competitors cannot share competitively-sensitive information or align prices to the detriment of American consumers.”
The original DOJ complaint was filed on Jan. 7, roughly two weeks before President Donald Trump took office.
Greystar manages 2,716 apartment units in Central Massachusetts, including the 370-unit Alta on the Row in Worcester and the 258-unit Bancroft Lofts in Framingham, according to CoStar and Greystar’s website.
In an Aug. 8 statement, the company denied wrongdoing and said the settlement will provide clarity to the industry over use of what it calls revenue management software.
“Greystar remains committed to being at the forefront of innovation in service of its clients and residents, all within the bounds of the law,” the statement reads. “The industry continues to face litigation and unclear regulatory guidance around the use of revenue management tools. We entered into these settlements to make clear the government's interpretation of the law and to ensure we continue to do things the right way.”
The settlement does not involve other firms accused of participating in the scheme, including Dallas-based Willow Bridge Property Co., which manages over 2,300 apartment units in Central Massachusetts, and Pinnacle Property Management Services, a firm acquired by Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield in 2020.
Pinnacle manages the 156-unit Orchard Apartments complex in Marlborough.
Greystar still finds itself subject to a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Colorado filed in January. The lawsuit, filed four days before Trump’s inauguration, alleging hidden mandatory fees have cost renters hundreds of millions of dollars since 2019.
However, it appears a settlement may be imminent in that case as well; the parties involved filed a joint status report on July 18 requesting a 60-day stay in deadlines, saying they believed they had made substantial progress towards a deal, according to a federal court document.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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