The nation's largest manager of single-family rental homes, Progress Residential, and its owner, the private equity firm Pretium Partners, will pay $49.75 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission and four states that they misled renters with false advertised prices, hidden fees and improperly withheld security deposits, the FTC announced on Friday, November 6. The agency called it the largest enforcement matter it has ever taken against a landlord.
Source: Federal Trade Commission
The FTC, together with Arizona, Colorado, Indiana and Utah, alleges that Progress and Pretium advertised rental prices that were not the real cost of living in their homes, charged fees renters often discovered only after signing a lease or moving in, failed to inspect homes they marketed as ready to live in, deducted money from security deposits for ordinary wear and tear, blocked tenants from posting negative reviews, and failed to provide adequate customer service. The complaint says the practices date to at least 2021 and that the hidden fees alone have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars.
Source: Federal Trade Commission
Fees that showed up only on the first bill
On pricing, the complaint alleges Progress advertised a monthly rent that left out mandatory monthly charges, including monthly 'smart home' and 'utility management' fees, and an inadequately disclosed 'renter's insurance exemption fee' charged to tenants who did not provide proof of renters' insurance — charges many consumers first saw on their first monthly bill. The FTC says Progress also misrepresented, failed to adequately disclose and unfairly charged a range of one-time and situational fees on top of the advertised rent.
On move-in conditions, the companies advertised homes as 'move-in ready' and inspected before residents arrived; in reality, the complaint says, numerous renters found serious maintenance, repair or cleaning problems. On security deposits, Progress promised to deduct only for damage a tenant caused beyond normal wear and tear, but regulators allege it routinely withheld some or all of deposits for normal wear and tear, for conditions that existed before the tenant moved in, and for renovations and repairs that were the companies' own responsibility — and that many renters never received the itemized deposit statement the company promised to send within 30 days of move-out.
The complaint also alleges Progress failed to answer renters in a timely way, or at all, leaving billing errors and improper charges unanswered while late fees built up, maintenance requests went unfulfilled and deposit disputes stayed unresolved. Separately, the FTC and the states allege the companies' standard contracts contained nondisparagement clauses that unlawfully prohibited consumers from making any negative comments about the company.
What the settlement requires
Under the proposed settlement, Progress and Pretium must pay $49.75 million — $48.5 million to the FTC, which will be used to provide redress to harmed consumers, and $1.25 million to Arizona. The companies are prohibited from deceiving consumers about the true total rental price, and Progress must advertise the 'true total monthly rental price,' including all mandatory recurring fees, more prominently than any other price. They may not claim homes are inspected when they are not, must run a security-deposit refund process with uniform withholding standards, training and records, must send an itemized statement of every deduction within 30 days of move-out or the time state law requires, may not deduct for normal wear and tear or pre-existing conditions, and may not use standard nondisparagement clauses or certain unfair customer-service practices.
"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. "The FTC is monitoring the rental housing market and will continue to take action where appropriate."
The complaint alleges that most of the conduct occurred under prior management and that new management has moved to remedy the issues, the FTC said. HousingWire reported that the company denies any wrongdoing. The case is not the FTC's first against a corporate landlord: in 2024, rival Invitation Homes agreed to pay $48 million to settle a similar hidden-fees action, Reuters reported. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, whose office joined the case, said Indiana investigators played a pivotal role in developing claims under Indiana consumer-protection law, and that the $48.5 million fund will provide relief to consumers nationwide. The FTC's commissioners voted 2-0 to authorise the case, and the complaint and proposed order were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where a judge must still approve the settlement before it takes effect.
For the many Punjabi and other immigrant families across the United States who rent single-family homes — often in the same fast-growing suburbs of California, Texas, Indiana and the Southeast where corporate landlords are most active — the case is a practical warning: the advertised rent is not always the rent. Regulators say renters should compare the full monthly cost, including every mandatory fee, before signing, and keep move-in photos and every deposit statement. What happens next: once the court approves the order, the FTC will run the redress process for affected Progress renters, and the agency, which Reuters reported is also exploring a rule requiring landlords to list mandatory fees upfront, says it is continuing to monitor the rental market.