Charleston, South Carolina — Greystar Management Services LLC, located in Charleston, signed a settlement deal with nine states on Monday over charges that it set rental pricing using algorithms rather than letting market forces to determine rates.
The settlement, entered in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, resolves claims brought by the attorneys general of North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee.
The states claimed that Greystar and other major apartment landlords utilized complicated algorithms to establish prices rather than allowing the market to determine them.
The method proved extremely harmful to consumers, according to the Department of Justice.
Greystar will pay the nine states $7 million as part of the consent judgment. The cash will be disbursed at the discretion of the states and used to enforce antitrust or consumer protection laws.
The settlement expands on Greystar’s earlier accord with the federal authorities, reached in August. The corporation operates over a million rental units in 43 states, including South Carolina and Washington, D.C.
