Largest US apartment landlord faces complaints over discrimination claims

Greystar, the largest owner and manager of apartments in the United States, is facing civil rights complaints alleging it unlawfully refused to accept Section 8 housing vouchers in areas where landlords are legally required to do so.

The complaints, filed this week with authorities in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, DC, accuse the company of 114 alleged violations of state and district fair housing laws.

The complaints were submitted by the Housing Rights Initiative and law firm Cohen Milstein, which said undercover callers posing as prospective tenants with housing vouchers were either refused accommodation or faced unlawful conditions at Greystar-managed properties.

In a statement, Aaron Carr, executive director of the Housing Rights Initiative, said: “We have never encountered a landlord that operates with such brazen contempt and hostility toward the rule of law as Greystar.”

“As the largest landlord in America, Greystar should be setting the standard of best practices for the nation, not systematically rejecting legitimate prospective tenants.”

Greystar did not respond directly to the allegations but said it is “committed to fair housing practices in everything we do” and provides related training to staff.

According to to Yardi Matrix data cited in the complaints, Greystar managed more than one million housing units in the US as of December, including around 235,000 units in the jurisdictions where the complaints were filed.