FTC lawsuit claims Zillow–Redfin rental tie-up crushes competition

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Zillow and Redfin over their rental syndication agreement. 

In a complaint filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, the FTC claims that the two firms conspired to eliminate competition in the rental listing space and that their syndication agreement — under which Zillow paid Redfin $100 million — violates antitrust laws. 

“The practical outcome of the agreement is obvious: Redfin has terminated its existing multifamily advertising business operations and, for the duration of the agreement, has stopped competing to provide [Internet Listing Services] advertising for multifamily properties,” the filing states. “The wholesale elimination of critical competition in this highly concentrated space will harm rental advertisers and the Americans who rely on ILSs to find their next home.”

Zillow announced its partnership with Redfin in February 2025, during its Q4 2024 earnings call. Through the partnership, Zillow became the exclusive provider of multifamily listings on Redfin, Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com. Zillow paid Redfin $100 million upfront as part of this agreement. The deal has a five-year term with two options to extend it by two years.

According to the complaint, under the terms of the agreement, Redfin agreed “to stop selling multifamily advertising, to terminate its existing multifamily advertising contracts, and to transition those customers to Zillow.”

“For years, these companies have competed fiercely to sell advertising to property managers looking to rent their available units,” the complaint states. “But Zillow has no interest in continuing to compete with Redfin on the merits of its rental advertising offering.”

Additionally, the complaint claims that after the deal was signed off on, Redfin laid off hundreds of employees and agreed to help Zillow hire them, and that Redfin agreed to turn over an “array of competitively sensitive information.”

“This agreement is nothing more than an end run around competition that insulates Zillow
from head-to-head competition on the merits with Redfin for customers advertising multifamily buildings (that is, buildings with 25 or more units),” the complaint states.

The FTC is asking the court for structural relief to cure any anticompetitive harm and to enjoin the defendants from engaging in this type of anticompetitive conduct in the future.

In an emailed statement a Zillow spokesperson said that the rental syndication agreement “benefits both renters and property managers and has expanded renters’ access to multifamily listings across multiple platforms.”

“It is pro-competitive and pro-consumer by connecting property managers to more high-intent renters so they can fill their vacancies and more renters can get home,” the spokesperson added. “We remain confident in this partnership and the enhanced value it has delivered and will continue to deliver to consumers.” 

A Redfin spokesperson also pushed back against the allegations writing in an emailed statement that the firm is “confident [it] will be vindicated by a court of law.”

“Our partnership with Zillow has given Redfin.com visitors access to more rental listings and our advertising customers access to more renters. By the end of 2024, it was clear that the existing number of Redfin advertising customers couldn’t justify the cost of maintaining our rentals sales force. Partnering with Zillow cut those costs and enabled us to invest more in rental-search innovations on Redfin.com, directly benefiting apartment seekers,” the spokesperson added.

In May, The Capitol Forum reported that the FTC was investigating this deal.