Dive Brief:

• A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit against Bozzuto Management Co. over its utility-notice and billing practices in Washington, D.C., to become a class action, according to documents filed July 15 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• In Hettinger, et al. v. Bozzuto Management Company, plaintiff and former tenant Laura Hettinger brought suit against Bozzuto for alleged violations of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, saying the company misled renters about overall costs and overcharged for utilities, according to the Jan. 2, 2025, amended complaint.
• The judge’s opinion states that Hettinger’s experience of billing discrepancies was not unique, and she can seek relief for herself as well as tenants at Bozzuto properties. Multifamily Dive reached out to Greenbelt, Maryland-based Bozzuto for comment about the case but did not hear back by press time.

Dive Insight:

After Hettinger moved into her Bozzuto-managed apartment, she began receiving bills that included a monthly service fee and variable charges for her water and sewer usage that she was not previously aware of, according to the complaint. 

From at least December 2020 onwards, application forms for Bozzuto-managed properties did not mention the administrative or variable utility charges included in monthly bills, per the complaint. Hettinger also alleges that she was at times charged more for her water and sewer use than D.C. law permits.

“The purported disconnect between Bozzuto’s pre-lease disclosures and its post-lease billing practices forms the core of this suit,” according to Chief Judge James Boasberg’s July 15 order. 

Hettinger filed suit against Bozzuto on Dec. 5, 2023, in the D.C. Superior Court, and the case was quickly moved to D.C.’s District Court, according to the Dec 11, 2023, notice of removal. About six months later, Bozzuto brought claims against Conservice LLC, the water and sewer utility provider for Hettinger and many other tenants, alleging that any liability for overcharging would be Conservice’s responsibility, according to the July opinion. The firms later settled.

Earlier this month, Boasberg permitted certification to move forward for two classes but denied Hettinger’s request for forward-looking injunctive relief, saying she lacked standing as a former tenant. 

Per the July 15 court order, the two damage classes are:

• Drip-Pricing Class: All current and former residential tenants at a Bozzuto-managed property who filed a rental application while Bozzuto managed that property and who were charged a service fee or variable utility charges between Dec. 5, 2020, and Aug. 27, 2025.
• Overcharge Class: All current and former residential tenants at a Bozzuto-managed property in D.C. who were charged or paid a per-1,000 gallon rate for water or sewer service greater than the operative multifamily rates set out in the D.C. Municipal Regulations and Register, namely title 21, § 4100.3 for water and § 4101.1 for sewer.

Drip pricing is a sales technique in which a firm advertises a price at the beginning of a purchase process and incrementally reveals more mandatory charges, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The goal is to gain a consumer's interest via the misleadingly low headline price and concealing the true final price until they have invested time and effort in the purchase.

The FTC finalized a rule in 2024 to prohibit such hidden fees, particularly in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries.

Bozzuto must share the names and contact information of class members by Aug. 5, according to the order, and the plaintiff must file a notice plan by Sept. 4 that outlines how impacted people will be notified about the class action.

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