Charleston-based company agrees to pay $1.4 million to settle claims of illegal early termination fees for military servicemembers

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Charleston-based property management company has agreed to pay more than $1.4 million to resolve claims that it imposed unlawful fees on military servicemembers, according to the Justice Department.

Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC (Greystar), which manages more than 800,000 housing units nationwide, was accused of violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by charging illegal fees to military personnel who terminated their leases early after receiving relocation orders.

The Justice Department alleges the company relied on “software that it knew would automatically impose early termination charges on SCRA-protected servicemembers” and left it to individual employees to manually overturn the charges, which ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The company will pay $1.35 million to affected military members and their co-tenants, as well as a $77,370 civil penalty, according to a provided copy of the settlement agreement.

The agreement also requires Greystar to make policy changes, including transitioning all its properties to SCRA-compliant software within six months. Annual training for employees who handle lease agreements and terminations will also be mandatory.

“America’s servicemembers devote their lives to defending our nation and must be able to do so without undue burdens,” said Bryan Stirling, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina. “The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects our military families from unfair hardships such as penalties for terminating a housing lease to fulfill military orders. We will continue to defend and support those who keep our country safe.”

Greystar wrote in a June 24 statement to News 2 that it actively cooperated with the DOJ to resolve the allegations and will continue strengthening its internal procedures to ensure future SCRA compliance.

“At no point did we knowingly use software that violated the law,” the statement continued. “Any issues stemmed from human error, and we are committed to making any error right.”

The agreement comes months after Greystar was sued alongside six other major landlords over a rent pricing scheme officials claimed harmed millions of renters.

The companies were accused of participating in an illegal scheme that allowed landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices by using an algorithmic software called RealPage to set rents and share “sensitively competitive information” about rental prices, lease terms, and occupancy with each other.

Greystar has denied any involvement in anti-competitive practices and vowed to “vigorously defend” itself in court.

The company’s portfolio includes properties in each of South Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas.