Big metro Atlanta landlord to pay $50M to settle claims it misled renters
A prominent landlord that owns and manages thousands of single-family rental homes in metro Atlanta has agreed to settle allegations the company misled renters with deceptive pricing practices.
Arizona-based Progress Residential and its owner, private equity firm Pretium Partners, agreed to pay nearly $50 million to settle claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the states of Arizona, Colorado, Indiana and Utah.
The FTC alleges the companies advertised false rental prices, charged hidden fees, failed to inspect homes before residents moved in, improperly deducted amounts from security deposits, restricted customers from making negative reviews and failed to provide adequate customer service.
“Since at least 2021, these hidden fees, which often go undiscovered until after consumers have signed a lease or moved in, have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars,” the FTC said in a news release.
Progress Residential and Pretium will pay $48.5 million to the FTC, which says it will compensate consumers “harmed by the companies’ unlawful action.” An additional $1.25 million will be paid to the state of Arizona.
Progress Residential said in a statement that it disagrees with the FTC’s claims, but the resolution allows it to move forward with its mission of expanding access to affordable rental housing.
“The agreement contains no admission of wrongdoing, and we maintain Progress’ practices have been transparent, fair, and consistent with industry practice,” the statement said.
It’s not immediately clear if Georgia renters will be eligible for a portion of the settlement. An FTC spokesperson said the agency plans to issue a news release at a later date regarding the distribution of payments.
A spokesperson for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office said “it appears the injunctive relief applies to all states,” but referred comment to the FTC.
Progress Residential manages more than 10,000 rental homes in metro Atlanta, or about 0.5% of the single-family housing stock in the region, according to a company spokesperson.
The company’s total portfolio spans more than 90,000 homes across 17 states, which New York-based Pretium owns through its investment funds, according to the FTC.
Metro Atlanta leads US in investor-owned rental homes
The settlement follows years of scrutiny around the practices of institutional owners, especially in the Peach State.
Metro Atlanta leads the country in Wall Street-owned single-family rental homes, with about 72,000 in the region, according to a report released earlier this year by the American Economic Liberties Project.
The trend came about after the Great Recession, when Atlanta was at the center of the housing crisis. Institutional investors swooped in and bought large swaths of foreclosed properties and flipped them for rent.
Institutional investors contend they help communities and expand housing supply, but critics say the firms can outcompete families in the market for homes.
In the 2023 investigative series “American Dream for Rent,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that families who rent from corporate investors can experience poor maintenance, surprise fees and frequent eviction filings. The series also revealed that investors were more likely to buy homes in majority Black communities.
Progress Residential was among the companies featured in the AJC investigation, which found that among issues during the early 2020s, the company filed more evictions and collected more late fees than any other single-family landlord in the region.
The series caught the attention of lawmakers. In 2025, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he was investigating corporate landlords and institutional investors that bought up single-family homes in bulk, including Progress Residential.
And sweeping federal housing legislation that passed this year, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, included provisions backed by Ossoff and fellow Georgia Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, including one that limits large companies or investment funds from owning more than 350 single-family homes at one time.
What’s in the proposed settlement
The FTC and the four states filed their complaint against Progress Residential and Pretium in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Thursday.
The proposed settlement, announced the same day, requires Progress Residential and Pretium to advertise the “true total monthly rental price,” including all mandatory recurring fees.
The companies are also prohibited from misrepresenting that rental homes are inspected before a consumer moves in and required to establish a security deposit refund process, among other demands. A federal judge still must sign off on the order.
Progress Residential said in its statement the company has made “significant changes” over the past several years to improve its resident experience.
The company said this includes redesigning its fee disclosure practices “to ensure residents understand the true cost of renting before they commit,” as well as enhancing its move-out and security deposit practices, among other efforts.
“We welcome the FTC’s efforts to establish uniform, industry-wide standards for the single-family rental industry related to fee disclosures and transparency,” Progress Residential said in the statement.
The FTC said its settlement with Progress Residential and Pretium is the largest enforcement matter against a landlord in its history.
In 2024, the FTC reached a settlement with another large institutional owner, Invitation Homes, which also has a significant presence in metro Atlanta.
“The FTC is monitoring the rental housing market and will continue to take action where appropriate to ensure that consumers receive clear and accurate information about the costs of renting a home,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the release.