FTC and Colorado AG File Suit Against Property Manager for Allegedly Deceptive Mandatory Fees

The FTC and the Colorado Attorney General filed a complaint against a large multifamily property management company over allegedly deceptive mandatory fees which were charged to renters.

The Complaint alleges that the property manager advertised properties with low rental rates.  The ads did not include reference to potential fees which may be charged in connection with the rentals or might list a particular amenity or service which came with the rental without noting there was a separate fee for it.  In fact, the property manager would allegedly charge renters a large number of mandatory, non-optional fees such as: valet trash fees; package delivery or package concierge fees; common area utility or maintenance fees; administrative fees; media or technology fees; pest control fees; amenity, community, or “lifestyle” fees; and other types of miscellaneous fees.  These fees could add tens or hundreds of dollars to the rent rates listed in the advertisements and would allegedly be required regardless of whether the borrower used or benefited from the service or amenity covered by the fee.  Further, borrowers would often allegedly not receive information or documentation reflecting these mandatory fees until after they had selected a rental unit to apply for and/or paid an application fee.  Even then these mandatory fees might only be listed in contractual fine print or behind hyperlinked disclosures, could still be confusing, or might not be disclosed at all.

The FTC and the State asserted that only showing a “base” rental rate in advertising without including these mandatory fees was a form of bait-and-switch, and that renters were misled about the actual rental rates they would be charged.  They filed their complaint in January 2025, which included claims under the FTC Act and Colorado consumer protection laws related to unfair or deceptive practices, as well as claims under data privacy laws (due to the property manager allegedly using false statements to get consumers to disclose certain financial information).