The Greystar Review · Follow-up

Leaving Costs Extra: Early-Termination Fees in the Greystar Record

From a servicemember's relocation orders to a tenant's death, charges at the end of a lease have drawn federal enforcement, a new state law and a viral video.

An empty apartment living room with stacked moving boxes by a bare window, a ring of keys on a counter beside a long itemized bill curling toward the floor, a red envelope on top, in sepia ink-wash style.
Illustration generated with ElevenLabs. It depicts no real people, properties or documents.

Leases end for many reasons: a job, a deployment, an illness, a death. What a landlord can charge when that happens has been the subject of federal enforcement, a state law and several lawsuits involving Greystar.

Servicemembers: a $1.43 million settlement

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets servicemembers end a lease early after receiving relocation orders. In June 2025, the Justice Department alleged that Greystar Management Services violated the act by imposing early-termination charges on servicemembers who ended leases after orders, relying on software it knew would impose the charges automatically.

Greystar agreed to set aside $1.35 million for affected servicemembers and co-tenants, with treble damages for those who paid, to pay a $77,370 civil penalty, and to adopt compliant software and forms. The total is about $1.43 million.

A death and a new law in Colorado

When tenant Leticia Farrer died in January 2024, her family was billed about $4,140 in early-termination and concession fees at Avenida in Loveland. The lease said tenants were not released "for any reason, including death." Greystar cleared the balance after CBS Colorado reported the story. Colorado later passed "Letty's Act" (HB25-1108) to bar such fees.

Moving out early in Washington

A class action in King County Superior Court was filed on behalf of tenants who moved out early and were charged, or had deposits applied to, buy-out fees, reletting charges or future rent. Greystar removed the case to federal court, which sent it back. Plaintiffs' counsel says trial is set for February 2027. The case is pending.

Tenant accounts

Three accounts in our Letters section describe the same kind of charge. They are unverified allegations, but they show what residents say they experienced.

When the landlord ends the stay

Sometimes the move is not the tenant's choice. In January 2026, The Tab reported that residents of Chapter London Bridge, a student hall run by Greystar's Chapter brand, had to vacate after a major water leak caused a power outage, with restoration expected to take until at least May 2026. One student said she felt "scammed out of £20,000." Chapter offered rooms at its other sites.

In 2016, San Jose Inside reported that the City Council voted 7 to 3 to allow Greystar to demolish the 216-unit rent-controlled Reserve for a 640-unit project, displacing about 670 people. Relocation help was offered only to lower-income households, about 40 units.

What connects them

In each case the question is the same: who bears the cost when a lease ends early, and under what rules. Federal law answers it for servicemembers, and Colorado now answers it for a tenant's death. For most other situations, the answer still depends on the lease and on state law, which is why pending cases like the Washington class action matter.

For charges tied to applications, late payment and eviction, see Screening Fees, Eviction Fees, Late Fees.

Read the record

Each item below is on The Greystar Review with a link to its original source.

This article summarizes public records and published reporting collected by The Greystar Review. Allegations are described as allegations, and a settlement is not a finding of wrongdoing unless a court or agency says so. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.