A Bozzuto Management lawsuit worth watching closely is Hettinger v. Bozzuto Management Company, a putative class action in Washington, D.C. that has already produced a summary judgment ruling against the company over hidden utility charges. Bozzuto, one of the largest residential property managers in the country, is also a settling defendant in the $141.8 million RealPage rent-pricing antitrust class action. Other suits against the company, including cases in Maryland and a Fourth Circuit appeal over discriminatory Facebook ads, have been dismissed.
The D.C. Drip-Pricing Case: Hettinger v. Bozzuto
Tenant Laura Hettinger sued Bozzuto in December 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the company advertises base rents for its luxury D.C. apartments but conceals mandatory variable utility charges and a fixed monthly service fee until after prospective tenants have paid non-refundable application fees and deposits. The complaint focuses on the NOVEL South Capitol building in Navy Yard and alleges the practices have “injured thousands of Bozzuto tenants” across roughly 12,000 residential units the company manages in the District.1ClassAction.org. Hettinger v. Bozzuto Management Company Complaint
The suit invokes two D.C. statutes: the Rental Housing Act, which requires landlords to disclose the full applicable rent when a tenant files a rental application, and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which bars deceptive and unfair trade practices. Hettinger alleges Bozzuto failed to disclose utility charges and a $4.30 monthly billing fee charged by third-party provider Conservice LLC; that the company charged water and sewer rates exceeding legal caps set by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority; and that billing variable utility costs as “additional rent” strips tenants of protections they would otherwise have, such as the right of redemption before eviction.1ClassAction.org. Hettinger v. Bozzuto Management Company Complaint
April 2024: Motion to Dismiss Largely Denied
Chief Judge James E. Boasberg denied most of Bozzuto’s motion to dismiss on April 25, 2024. The court found it plausible that “a reasonable consumer may be misled” by disclosing utility fees only after an applicant has already invested hundreds of dollars in non-refundable charges. The drip-pricing claims, the water and sewer overcharging claims, and a theory that Bozzuto’s submetering practices were unfair all moved into discovery. The court did dismiss the narrower claim that gas and electric submetering was illegal on its face.2Tycko & Zavareei. Hettinger v. Bozzuto Motion to Dismiss Largely Denied
July 2025: Summary Judgment for the Tenant on the Core Claim
After discovery, both sides moved for summary judgment. On July 21, 2025, Judge Boasberg issued what the court described as a “split decision” that came down heavily in Hettinger’s favor on the central issue. The court held that the utility and service charges Bozzuto bills are “rent” under D.C. law because they are a condition of occupancy, and that Bozzuto failed to disclose them when the application was filed. That failure, the court ruled, is a per se violation of the Consumer Protection Procedures Act.3Justia. Hettinger v. Bozzuto Management Company, Memorandum Opinion
Bozzuto’s own summary judgment motion was denied in full. Claims regarding the general unfairness of the billing scheme, the deprivation of tenant protections, and false advertising remain live for further proceedings. Through a property manager’s affidavit, Bozzuto has maintained the company “does not receive more money from residents than it pays to Conservice and does not profit in any way from this arrangement.”3Justia. Hettinger v. Bozzuto Management Company, Memorandum Opinion
The RealPage Rent-Pricing Settlement
Bozzuto is one of 27 property management companies that agreed to settle claims in In re RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litigation (No. II), consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Tenants alleged that Bozzuto and other large landlords conspired to inflate rents by sharing confidential, nonpublic business data with RealPage, whose algorithmic pricing tool then produced coordinated rent recommendations across competing properties.4Multifamily Dive. RealPage Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
The 26 settlements covering the 27 defendants total $141.8 million, with individual contributions ranging from $550,000 to $50 million. Bozzuto’s specific share has not been publicly disclosed. As part of the settlement, Bozzuto and other defendants agreed to stop providing nonpublic data to RealPage for competitor pricing recommendations and to stop using RealPage’s revenue management system that relies on such data. The settlements include no admission of wrongdoing.4Multifamily Dive. RealPage Class Action Lawsuit Settlement
The court granted preliminary approval of the settlements on November 21, 2025. As of mid-2026 the claims process has not yet opened. Tenants who paid rent at properties owned or managed by the settling companies between October 18, 2018, and November 21, 2025, may be eligible, but they cannot file claims until the court approves a notice plan and a distribution plan. No final approval hearing has been scheduled. Renters can register for updates at the official settlement website.5Hausfeld LLP. RealPage Federal Antitrust Class Action6RealPage Rental Settlement. In Re RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litigation
Bozzuto is not a named defendant in the U.S. Department of Justice’s separate antitrust action against RealPage, filed in August 2024 in the Middle District of North Carolina. That case names Camden Property Trust, Cortland Management, Cushman & Wakefield, Greystar, LivCor, Pinnacle, and Willow Bridge as the landlord defendants.7Federal Register. United States v. RealPage, Inc. et al., Proposed Final Judgment On November 24, 2025, the DOJ filed a proposed consent decree with RealPage itself, requiring the company to stop using competitors’ nonpublic data to set rental prices and to accept a court-appointed compliance monitor.8U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Requires RealPage End Sharing Competitively Sensitive Information
Cases Bozzuto Won or That Were Dismissed
Smith v. Bozzuto (Maryland, 2025)
A Montgomery County, Maryland tenant sued Bozzuto claiming the company acted as an unlicensed debt collector when it collected rent and pursued judgments, and that it charged illegal late fees before rent was 15 days overdue. On December 18, 2025, Judge Rachel T. McGuckian granted Bozzuto’s motion to dismiss with prejudice. The court ruled that Bozzuto is a property management company whose rent collection is incidental to its primary business and that it collects on its own behalf as a party to the lease, not as a third-party debt collector. The court also found that residential leases are not “consumer contracts” under the relevant Maryland statute, so the 15-day grace period for late fees did not apply. The plaintiff had also failed to allege any actual injury.9Maryland Courts. Smith v. Bozzuto Management Company, Order
Opiotennione v. Bozzuto (Facebook Ad Targeting)
A 55-year-old prospective tenant sued Bozzuto and other property managers, alleging they used Facebook’s ad-targeting tools to show rental housing advertisements exclusively to users aged 50 and younger, keeping older users from learning about available apartments. The ACLU and several civil rights organizations supported the plaintiff with an amicus brief, calling the practice “digital redlining.”10ACLU. Neuhtah Opiotennione v. Bozzuto Management Company et al. The district court dismissed the case in July 2021 for lack of standing, finding that the plaintiff had not alleged a concrete injury because she never requested housing that was denied. On March 4, 2025, the Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that any harm was speculative because the plaintiff was “passively waiting” for ads and the housing information was accessible through other channels.11U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Opiotennione v. Bozzuto Management Co., No. 21-1919
Older Resolved Matters
Henry v. Bozzuto (Massachusetts Security Deposit)
The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled in October 2020 that Bozzuto mishandled a $1,250 security deposit at a Danvers apartment. After tenants Molly and Jon Henry terminated their lease in 2015, Bozzuto sent a move-out statement assessing $1,260 in damages but failed to provide a sworn, itemized list within the 30-day window required by Massachusetts law. The Appeals Court reversed summary judgment for Bozzuto, ordered judgment for the Henrys on the deposit claim, and remanded the unfair-practices claim to Housing Court. The court affirmed denial of class certification because the Henrys had offered only “argument and speculation” about the number of affected tenants.12FindLaw. Henry v. Bozzuto Management Company
Voucher and Accessibility Settlements
In 2020, Bozzuto entered a court-enforced settlement in D.C. Superior Court after tenant Robert Evans alleged he was denied housing at a Bozzuto-managed property because he intended to use a housing voucher. The complaint alleged Bozzuto quoted Evans one rent price and then raised it after learning about the voucher, pushing the cost beyond his subsidy’s maximum. Bozzuto denied the allegations but agreed to stop charging higher rents to voucher holders, eliminate minimum income requirements and credit score evaluations for subsidized applicants, and provide fair housing training to staff.13Neighborhood Legal Services Program. Maple View Flats Bozzuto Settlement14Street Sense Media. Unique Settlement Agreement Creates Hope for Change to Rampant Housing Discrimination in D.C.
Earlier, in 2007, Bozzuto settled a lawsuit brought by the Equal Rights Center alleging failure to comply with accessibility requirements under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act across apartment and condominium complexes in six states and D.C. Under that consent decree, Bozzuto agreed to retrofit over 2,000 existing units across 27 complexes, including widening doors, removing steps, and modifying common areas, and committed to exceeding legal accessibility requirements in future construction.15Equal Rights Center. National Developer Bozzuto Agrees to Groundbreaking Settlement