New York Attorney General Letitia James, four other state attorneys general, and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement with Zillow Group, Inc. and Redfin Corporation that ends an agreement regulators said illegally restricted competition in the online apartment rental market.
The settlement requires Zillow and Redfin to resume competing for renters and property managers and dismantle provisions of a February 2025 agreement that limited Redfin’s ability to operate its own multifamily rental advertising business. The companies must also pay the coalition $2 million.
Zillow and Redfin operate two of the three largest websites used by renters to search for apartments and by building managers to advertise available units.
According to the New York Attorney General’s Office, Zillow paid Redfin $100 million in February 2025 to shut down its multifamily rental advertising operation and transfer customers to Zillow. Redfin also agreed to display Zillow apartment listings on its websites and remain outside the multifamily advertising market for as long as nine years.
James and attorneys general from Arizona, Connecticut, Washington, and Virginia sued the companies in October 2025, alleging the arrangement violated federal antitrust laws. The FTC joined the states in securing the settlement.
“Online rental listing platforms are critical tools that New Yorkers rely on to find affordable homes,” James said. She said the agreement threatened to increase costs for renters and landlords while reducing competition and service improvements.
Under the settlement, Redfin will rebuild its apartment advertising business, hire employees to attract and maintain customers, and again sell its own advertising products. It will also be permitted to publish apartment listings independently rather than exclusively displaying listings available through Zillow.
Zillow and Redfin must remove other provisions that prevent them from competing and are barred from entering similar anticompetitive agreements in the future.
Regulators argued that restoring competition should encourage both companies to improve their platforms, develop new services, and offer better options to renters and property managers.
The New York case was handled by attorneys in the state Attorney General’s Antitrust Bureau, part of the Economic Justice Division.
