Seattle renters sue leasing companies for allegedly inflating rent prices artificially

Renters in downtown Seattle filed a class-action lawsuit accusing 10 major leasing companies of an agreement to artificially inflate the price of residential real estate in the area.
The lawsuit alleges that those who currently rent or have rented an apartment maintained by one of the 10 companies since 2010 may have paid artificially inflated rent prices.
The lawsuit states that defendants Greystar, Crow Holdings, Lincoln Property Co., FPI Management, Avenue5, Equity, Essex Property Trust, Thrive, Avalonbay Communities and Security Properties Inc colluded and shared data through RealPage, effectively inflating the prices of multifamily residential real estate in and around downtown Seattle above competitive levels.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE: www.king5.com/article/news/lo...

[@moirai1964]

There needs to be some regulation on rent. Middle class n lower are priced out of housing or buying.

[@asifafzal6520]

This is so true, the rents are getting higher everyday.. what about low income families who are struggling to get homes

[@jacobnapkins1155]

@@vallee7966 less landlords equals more inventory for potential owners it's a good thing

[@donaldlee6760]

This is so true, rents are going up which strongly indicates price fixing. The same is true of gas, milk, and used car prices. I hope the lawyer files a class action lawsuit on grocery stores and used car dealers too!

[@ds-vf3bl]

@@vallee7966 landlords aren't victims how about they get real jobs instead of leeching off other people paying their bills. Wall street are definitely to blame but landlords are greedy all the same

[@christinepemberton5077]

Most states are going thru this now. Rent has become so high, we need to move and can't!

[@_JackNapier]

Needs to be done Nationally. Fair is Fair.

[@acountryforwomen]

YES! AND THEY ARE DOING THIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND MIGHT ALSO CANADA!

[@criyton]

Yes please and thank you for actually doing something! How can we the people help?

[@jameswaters3939]

The entire south county got bumped up $300-400 all at once. Feels like a conspiracy to gouge renters. Who determines 'what the market will bear'? If one sector hoards payments, this affects disposable income for other products/services. The internet increases efficiency in operations and savings should be passed on to the consumer. Instead, for no known reason, prices spiked sharply and not a thing can be done except a lawsuit. My building is now charging pets rent of $35/mo.. It's outrageous.

[@RealSoLucien]

And have been since 2007. Housing needs to be removed from being an investment and returned to being shelter. You know the place you go at night to not die of exposure...shelter. no tax breaks unless you... yourself... in person... reside there and there alone for 52 weeks of the year, no splitting no division of residence. You get 1 house with tax breaks, everything else is taxed at 60% of value annully...shutup you can afford it, which goes to finding SHELTER for those who currently reside in 0 houses or less and only finding shelter for the unhoused, the remainder goes into social security.

[@donaldlee6760]

I couldn't agree more, if you want shelter then just buy a house or condo. If you want to be a landlord then they should not be allowed to make a profit.

[@donnac.1609]

I do not put anything past today's businesses! If this is being done it needs to be stopped.

[@sharvo6]

Industry consolidation and lack of consumer protection legislation.

[@katalac]

...and they wonder why so many are homeless

[@failtolawl]

Homeless weren't forced out because of rent, they came from other places because drugs are easily accessible and the weather is bearable

[@kimchiiiki]

@WESTSIDEGUY LMAO ppl are homeless all the time bc they can't pay rent, you're thinking of just crackheads

[@katalac]

@WESTSIDEGUY oh ...do you know each of their stories?

[@failtolawl]

@@katalac Local news interviews the homeless all the time. I have never once heard a homeless person say that they lived in and were evicted from a home in Seattle. They come to Seattle because its got bearable temperatures, homeless support, and most important of all, its an open season drug hub. They wouldn't be able to pay for rent controlled rent prices. They could live anywhere else in the world that has less rent, but they chose to migrate to Seattle.

[@failtolawl]

@A. Nony Maus lol sure you will buddy

[@dinosilone7613]

Realpage has to go. There should also be a progressive taxation scheme for each additional rental property owned by a single owner.

[@Neimfeltrite]

There is no such thing as free market rent when it comes to property management companies. They will always collude with each other. Their job as corporations is to maximize profits. They do this by doing what is called a, "Market survey". A market survey is done weekly or monthly and consists of the company sending out leasing agents to other properties posing as potential renters in order to get a heads-up on what other neighboring properties are charging, and if they find other properties charging higher rents, they will raise their own rents too. Many leasing agents share this information between companies willingly by phone just so they can satisfy upper management's market survey requirements. Because of a lack of affordable rental inventory, coupled with the desperation of people trying to find a place to live, rental rates aren't coming down anytime soon.

[@katalac]

Sounds like a no win situation for the renters

[@salah4501]

So much for a free market

[@mattblair6365]

Lawers win.

[@stephbest96]

It's just like you raise rent but are your expenses really going up that much to where they feel the need to raise it sometimes almost 1000?

[@jacobnapkins1155]

@@vallee7966 great good you sold we need less speculators and more people living in the homes.

[@dasimparmy2289]

It's just not Seatlle it's all of western Washington.

[@honorladone8682]

The same things going on in Miami. And everywhere else!!!

[@panthermoon6984]

power to the people

[@mademsoisellerhapsody]

Which property management companies are involved? .

[@MiriamLisco]

I recently received a notice that when I renew my rent it will go up by $800 for my studio apartment which already has a high rent - I am being forced to move

[@jessevarela]

That's step one but what about homeowners that rent their second home/ condo and have bumped up rents 40% in the last 2 years? It's easy to blame big companies but they don't have a monopoly on the market when it comes down to greed. This pandemic has really brought out the worst in ppl and to think that the unofficial slogan at the beginning was "We're all in this together ". Yeah right. 🤣

[@YoDzOnHalo]

My rent went from $2300 to $3000 in two years between 2020 to 2022. By Invitation Homes company. For a townhouse in Des Moines two blocks off pac highway

[@katalac]

Location. ..Location..Location..see how much they will be able to get for rent with all the tech layoffs

[@stephbest96]

I hate them they are fucking terrible. If you look at their FB page they have TERRIBLE comments about peoples experiences. I doubt they deleted. They buy up a lot of the house for sale and rent them out at stupidly overpriced

[@PEZ1514]

@@katalac Look at NYC. They will choose to not rent the unit and keep the prices high. Watch

[@donaldlee6760]

That's crazy, why don't you just move to another place nearby that charges a fair market value instead of rewarding a greedy landlord that is overcharging?

[@ri.b.8700]

WOW. That's awesome!!

[@cardenfoy]

RENT CONTROL NOW!!!!

[@BlueAlien1313]

No checks and balances anywhere. It's just a free for all for criminal activities. The hierarchy of basic needs: food, shelter, and clothing. They broke one of the laws of nature. Lock them up!

[@newtowamountainsnature7126]

Excellent!!!!

[@brucejohnson1264]

Sounds like wishful thinking to me. I don’t see how looking at what others charge amounts to price fixing. Terrible housing policy by the city seems a more likely cause.

[@BorahaeBitch7]

Get 'em!!!

[@cynicalcindy1434]

10-25% I saw rents double and triple in a 2-3 year timeframe!!! I had one guy come in to renew his lease, had been a tenant for 10 years. His rent was barely over $500 while the same units were renting for $1100.

[@YoooMelvin]

I live in a property managed by one of these companies (Thrive) what can I do 🤨

[@siglandoe3913]

No one says you absolutely need to live in Seattle.

[@sharvo6]

Oh, we just provide a service, we can't be held accountable for what Property Management does blah blah blah. Why else would such a service exist if not to jack up rents across the board? Burn their butts.

[@Thinkingthings1]

I wonder if Cascade Housing is on that list?

[@aliceel61]

Yes, finally so

[@HeyJerizo]

That's good, landlords is now trying to recoup the money lost for all the people that didn't pay rent for 3 years during the pandemic, now everyone else suffers

[@failtolawl]

As compared to.. Natural rent prices? Does supply and demand have to confer to the trees to see the correct prices? The rent is high because people pay it.

[@adriangroarke2460]

There is a storm coming.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Whatever you do...don't blame the Growth Managment Act.

[@tomaswarner131]

Can you bring this to the bay area around google/apple/HP and so many other companies?

[@dominysynclair]

I had a nice 1 bd in Belltown for $1150 in 2011.

[@jodydolphin79]

i had a really nice view of downtown and the water 1000 sq ft.. $1250. 2013

[@dominysynclair]

@@jodydolphin79 I'd always planned on going back after I left, but things started going south there and just never stopped. I'm in Miami Beach now, I'll probably never go back.

[@jysfo5728]

Why don't the renters compare prices themselves and rent the cheaper place...

[@rampage_360bobamusicandoth4]

why does the lawyer dude or whomever he is look like uncle jack from iasip minus the mustache

[@RimRunnerRR]

Not shocking at all. This is normal unfortunately

[@silkyrobinson5079]

its about damn time

[@joannajamerson35]

Real property associate

[@33Jenesis]

Rent should go by the medium income of its zip code. This income is verifiable via tax filing. If it is $50k, rent should not go beyond 30% or $15k a year. This income is cross the board regardless if single person household or two parents with multiple kids. Certain zip such as 90210 income would be high thus reasonable to ask for higher rent.

[@lindataylor1127]

It’s just capitalism

[@deepvibez]

Republicans

[@ScaryNda206]

same thing zillow has been doing with the price of real estate