Progress Residential to Pay $49.75M in FTC Rental Pricing Settlement
The largest U.S. single-family rental manager and its private equity owner will pay $49.75M to resolve deceptive pricing and fee disclosure charges.
Progress Residential, the largest property manager of single-family rental homes in the United States, and its private equity owner Pretium Partners have agreed to pay $49.75 million to settle federal and state charges alleging deceptive rental pricing practices and other unlawful conduct, the Federal Trade Commission announced.
The FTC, acting alongside four states, accused the companies of misleading prospective tenants through deceptive advertised rental prices, inadequate disclosure of fees, and the improper withholding of security deposits — practices regulators said harmed renters across the country.
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Under the terms of the proposed settlement order, Progress Residential and Pretium Partners would be required to advertise the true cost of rental units, clearly and conspicuously disclose all applicable fees to consumers, and cease the security deposit practices that regulators deemed unlawful. The order effectively mandates greater transparency at every stage of the rental process.
The case draws attention to growing regulatory scrutiny of large institutional landlords, which have expanded rapidly in the single-family rental market over the past decade. The scale of Progress Residential's operations — and its ownership by a major private equity firm — made the enforcement action one of the more significant rental housing cases the FTC has pursued in recent years.
The $49.75 million settlement represents one of the largest penalties assessed against a single-family rental operator in a consumer protection action. Continue reading at Press Release Feed.
