Compass International Holdings is adding yet another antitrust claim to its growing legal and regulatory docket.
On Wednesday, plaintiffs Peter Castaneda and Haley Gelfand, both New York City renters, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Compass in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The lawsuit alleges that through its acquisitions Compass International Holdings has created a monopoly, which it has used to harm consumers as well as competitors like Zillow when it decided to pull its rental listings from StreetEasy earlier this month. The plaintiffs claim that this move reduced consumer choice, while also driving up rents and brokerage fees.
“Compass created a trust and has attempted to monopolize or actually did monopolize the market for rental units in the geographic market as a result of its acquisition of some its largest competitors,” the complaint states. “From the halls of Congress to courtrooms across the country, Compass’s conquest to seize control over various housing markets has drawn consternation, scrutiny and litigation in a challenging attempt to quell the impending crisis caused by Compass. That crisis has now come to pass.”
According to the complaint, ahead of the fall housing market, Compass pushed its agents to delist their properties from the Zillow-owned StreetEasy and instead use the “participant only” designation on the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) Residential Listing Service (RSL). This designation prevents listings from being syndicated to or displayed on public-facing websites.
A common marketing strategy
When asked about this, a Compass spokesperson told HousingWire this was a “common marketing strategy among top agents,” as it “gives sellers exposure to virtually all” consumers while “temporarily taking the listing off of the World Wide Web in August, the slowest month in New York City.”
“This marketing strategy isn’t focused on pulling listings off any particular portal or website — these listings are still visible to all agents of all brokerages in REBNY’s RLS and their clients,” the spokesperson added. “Portals are increasingly seeking to control how sellers market their homes in ways that protect their business model, whether or not it is in the best interest of the consumer.”
The plaintiffs claim that StreetEasy is the city’s dominant rental search platform and that by removing its listings from the site Compass prevented renters from easily seeing a large portion of available rental inventory. As many renters use StreetEasy to find a property without the help of an agent or broker, the plaintiffs claim that by pulling listings from the site, Compass pushed renters toward Compass agents, where they may have to pay a broker fee that can equal at least a month’s rent. Additionally, they claim that by reducing the visible inventory creating an artificial supply shortage, Compass caused rents to rise.
“As of August 13, 2026, inventory across all areas of New York City for rental units have dropped 40% in the past year,” the complaint states. “Market reports found that this corresponded with a 3% price increase for June of 2026 as compared to June of 2025, with double the price increase (6%) for July of 2026 as compared to July of 2026.”
Both plaintiffs found and rented one-bedroom apartments in downtown Manhattan in early August via StreetEasy without the help of an agent, agreeing to pay $5,270 per month in rent. In the complaint, they claim that despite not paying a brokerage fee to Compass, they were harmed because the reduction in publicly available inventory caused by Compass’s conduct artificially increased rents. They compare their $5,270 rent with a July 2026 median asking rent of $4,390.
The lawsuit includes both federal and state antitrust claims, as well as a claim for unjust enrichment, as the plaintiffs argue that Compass obtained profits at renters’ expense by charging prices and collecting brokerage-related revenue that it allegedly would not have obtained in a competitive market.
The suit is seeking class action status for all individuals in the New York City metropolitan area who entered into rental agreements beginning Aug. 1, 2026, and continuing until Compass’s alleged unlawful conduct and its effects stop. The complaint estimates there could be tens or hundreds of thousands of class members.
The plaintiffs have also demanded a jury trial and are seeking damages, as well as injunctive relief requiring Compass to stop its allegedly unlawful conduct.
Compass did not wish to comment on the claims made in the lawsuit.
This lawsuit comes as Compass is already facing antitrust claims from a lawsuit Zillow filed against it and Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED). Compass and MRED have also faced questions from a House Judiciary Committee regarding their partnership, which the committee is concerned could reduce consumer transparency and competition. Additionally, the New York attorney general’s office is allegedly probing the firm’s acquisition of Anywhere over antitrust concerns.