Progress Residential and Pretium to Pay $49.75 Million to Settle FTC Hidden-Fee Charges
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on November 6 that Progress Residential, the nation's largest property manager of single-family rental homes, and its owner, the private equity firm Pretium Partners, will pay $49.75 million to settle charges brought by the FTC and the states of Arizona, Colorado, Indiana and Utah over deceptive rental pricing and other unlawful conduct. The FTC said it is the largest enforcement matter against a landlord in the Commission's history.
Progress, founded and wholly owned by Pretium, manages more than 90,000 homes across 17 states owned through Pretium's investment funds. The complaint alleges that since at least 2021 the companies advertised monthly rents that excluded mandatory fees and charged a range of one-time and situational fees — including monthly "smart home" and "utility management" fees and an inadequately disclosed "renter's insurance exemption fee" — that many consumers discovered only in their first monthly bill, costing consumers tens of millions of dollars. It further alleges that homes advertised as "move-in ready" and inspected often had serious maintenance and cleaning problems; that security deposits were routinely withheld for normal wear and tear, preexisting conditions and renovations that were the companies' responsibility, without the promised itemized statement within 30 days of move-out; that form contracts contained nondisparagement clauses unlawfully barring negative reviews; and that customer service promises went unmet. The complaint notes that the majority of the conduct occurred under prior management and that new management has moved to remedy the issues.
"Consumers searching for housing should have access to straightforward information about the costs associated with renting a home," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Transparency regarding rental prices and fees helps consumers compare options and make informed choices." The companies, in a statement reported by the media, denied any wrongdoing.
Under the proposed settlement, $48.5 million will go to the FTC to provide redress to harmed consumers and $1.25 million to the State of Arizona. The order would require the companies to advertise the "true total monthly rental price," inclusive of all mandatory recurring fees, more prominently than any other pricing information; bar claims that homes are inspected before move-in when they are not; require a security deposit refund process with uniform withholding standards and an itemized statement no later than 30 days after move-out; bar deductions for normal wear and tear, preexisting conditions or unrelated capital improvements; and prohibit standardized nondisparagement clauses. The Commission voted 2-0 to authorize the complaint and proposed stipulated order, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and subject to court approval.
(Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission)
Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿特区的联邦贸易委员会总部Apex大楼。CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
