A former Colorado tenant has sued real estate giant Greystar — the nation’s largest apartment management company — over hidden charges and “junk fees” charged for items including pest control and valet trash service.
Nichole Collins, a tenant until April in a Lakewood apartment complex called The Hamptons, filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court on Jan. 9. She and her attorneys hope to join forces with other Greystar renters statewide in a class-action case challenging the fees and other billing charges tucked within its leases.
Towards Justice, the nonprofit law firm representing Collins alongside law firm Justice for the People Legal Center, describes junk fees as mandatory charges that aren’t “included in the advertised monthly rent for any given apartment and are hidden from prospective tenants.” Greystar’s typical pest control fee charged to tenants is $4 per month, while it usually bills $25 monthly for trash service, the lawsuit says.
Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar rents apartments in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins and Loveland. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The National Consumer Law Center estimates that consumers are shelling out “tens and maybe even hundreds of billions of dollars a year” in junk fees tied to rental agreements, bank accounts, credit cards and more.
Last week, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced a $1 million settlement with Boulder-based Four Star Realty over illegally billing of tenants across the Front Range for routine apartment services. Weiser’s office declined to comment on the Greystar lawsuit.
Towards Justice Executive Director David Seligman described the use of junk fees by landlords as “pervasive — and we think it’s been going on a long time.” His organization has heard complaints about the practice for years.
The fees may not add up to much for an individual tenant, but, “when we’re talking about thousands and thousands of residents, it really does add up,” Seligman said in an interview. “It becomes like a tax imposed by corporations on working families as a condition of living in this state.”
The pest control fee draws particular ire because, his organization contends, “landlords in Colorado are required to provide pest control as part of their bare minimum legal obligations to tenants.” Seligman argues that offloading these costs to renters through undisclosed, hidden fees is unlawful.
The lawsuit alleges Greystar has violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act and engaged in breach of contract and unjust enrichment by charging the various fees.
Because of “sky-high rents” statewide, Colorado tenants already face financial pressures tied to their living situations, Seligman said, adding: “All of these hidden fees can have even more acute consequences.”
In Collins’ case, Greystar took over management of her apartment complex in 2020 and then sent her a lease renewal offer that “only disclosed the headline rent,” said Jason Legg, the lead attorney at Justice for the People Legal Center, in a news release. After Collins accepted it, she found out about other obligatory charges on the company’s form lease, he added.
When she leased with Greystar, Collins said in the news release, “I thought my monthly rent would be one amount, but it turned out to be much higher.” That was because of fees “that didn’t cover any of the services they provide, besides their most basic services they are required to provide as a landlord.”
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