The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Greystar Management Services LLC has agreed to pay $1.4 million to settle allegations that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by imposing illegal fees on military servicemembers who terminated their leases after receiving military relocation orders.
The DOJ noted that Greystar is the nation’s largest property management company with over 800,000 housing units under management. In announcing the settlement, the DOJ stated that Greystar “relied on software that it knew would automatically impose early termination charges on SCRA-protected servicemembers.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Greystar will allocate $1.35 million to compensate the affected military members and their co-tenants, with $77,370 to cover a civil penalty. Greystar will pay triple damages to the servicemembers who paid the early termination charges, and the company will change its policies and training related to this customer sector.
“We honor the service and sacrifices of our military by defending their rights under the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “We are aggressively enforcing all laws, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, to protect our military servicemembers and veterans.”
