⚖️ Progress Residential and Pretium to pay $49.75M in FTC case

Progress Residential and its owner, private equity firm Pretium Partners, will pay $49.75 million to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission and four states, according to an FTC press release first reported Nov 6 at 7:00 AM ET. The FTC says the money settles allegations of deceptive rental pricing and other conduct. It calls the matter the largest enforcement action against a landlord in the Commission's history.

Who says what

The FTC release says the agency and Arizona, Colorado, Indiana and Utah allege that Progress and Pretium advertised false rental prices, charged hidden fees, failed to inspect homes before residents moved in, improperly deducted from security deposits, restricted negative reviews and gave poor customer service. The complaint alleges that since at least 2021 the hidden fees, often undiscovered until after a lease was signed or a tenant had moved in, cost consumers tens of millions of dollars.

On the money, the FTC says $48.5 million goes to the agency to provide redress to harmed consumers, and $1.25 million is paid to Arizona. The FTC says the Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaint and proposed stipulated order was 2-0. Progress, which the FTC says is wholly owned by Pretium through its investment funds, manages over 90,000 homes across 17 states.

The German outlet ad hoc news reports separate details that the FTC release does not carry, so treat them as that outlet's account. It says Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced the settlement on Nov 5, and that the deal requires Progress to show rents, including mandatory extra fees, before a lease is signed. It also says the deal bars withholding deposits for normal wear, requires itemized deposit accounting and bars contract clauses that restrict public reviews. The outlet adds that tenants must be allowed to dispute individual fees. It reports that no admission of guilt is part of the deal.

The response

The reports read carry no named statement from Progress or Pretium. The FTC release does record one position: the complaint alleges that the majority of the conduct occurred under prior management, and that new management has moved to remedy the issues. No public response from either company was found in the reports read.

What happens next

The FTC note on the release says stipulated orders carry the force of law only once the District Court judge approves and signs them. No source read gives a date for that signature. Ad hoc news says Colorado, Indiana and Utah are expected to join the settlement. The FTC release describes all four states as having filed. No payout timetable is stated in the documents read.

The arithmetic that is missing

MrMoney checked the pack for the one number that would make the headline figure mean something: total rent collected, or total fees charged. Neither source gives it. The FTC says only that the fees cost consumers tens of millions of dollars. So the $49.75 million cannot be set against the rents involved from the record read. It can be set against the FTC's own description of the harm, and the two are the same order of magnitude.

Backstory

The complaint reaches back to at least 2021, per the FTC. Ad hoc news puts the conduct at 2021 to 2025. The same outlet notes that landlord Invitation Homes settled an FTC case over improper extra fees in 2024 and paid $48 million, a figure the FTC release read here does not mention.

As of Nov 7, 5:22 AM ET, the confirmed part is the FTC's announcement of a proposed $49.75 million settlement, filed in the Northern District of Georgia with a 2-0 Commission vote. The pending part is the judge's approval, the exact terms of the order and the final list of states. The companies' own public response has not been found.