AvalonBay Communities

Overview

AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

type	Public
traded as	S&P 500 component
predecessor	Avalon Properties Inc.<BR>Bay Apartment Communities, Inc.
founded	1978
hq location	Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
key people	Timothy J. Naughton (chairman) Benjamin Schall (CEO) Kevin P. O’Shea (CFO)
industry	Real estate investment trust
revenue	US$2.301 billion (2020)
net income	US$827 million (2020)
assets	US$19.199 billion (2020)
equity	US$10.752 billion (2020)
num employees	3,090 (2021)
website	https://www.avaloncommunities.com
footnotes	‡R1R‡

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments.

As of January 31, 2021, the company owned 79,856 apartment units in New England, the New York City metropolitan area, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Seattle and California. It is the 3rd largest owner of apartments in the United States.[2]

History

The company was formed by the 1998 merger between Avalon Properties Inc. and Bay Apartment Communities Inc.[3][4][5] The merged company owned 40,506 apartment units.[3]

Controversy and fraud allegations

New Jersey Lawsuit

In April 2025, the New Jersey Attorney General filed a lawsuit against AvalonBay and nine other major landlords, alleging they engaged in an unlawful conspiracy.[20] The complaint states that by using RealPage's revenue management software and sharing competitively sensitive data, the defendants agreed to set rents at artificially high, "supracompetitive" levels, violating federal and state antitrust laws.[21]

Washington D.C. Lawsuit

The District of Columbia Attorney General has filed a similar antitrust suit. While an earlier complaint was dismissed, the court allowed the District to amend and refile its claims.[22] As of September 2025, a D.C. Superior Court judge rejected AvalonBay's motion to dismiss these amended claims, allowing the case to proceed.[23]

Housing Discrimination Lawsuit (AVA NoMa)

In June 2025, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) sued AvalonBay and its ownership subsidiary for alleged housing discrimination at the AVA NoMa property in Washington, D.C.[24] The lawsuit claims that since at least 2020, the property has falsely advertised units by listing windowless rooms as bedrooms.[25][24] As D.C. housing code requires bedrooms to have a window, and the local housing voucher program requires units to pass an inspection, this practice allegedly made a significant portion of the building's units—including 100% of its advertised three-bedroom units—unavailable to tenants using housing vouchers. The ERC alleges this constitutes illegal discrimination under D.C. law.[25]

Consumer Fraud and Tenant Litigation

A federal lawsuit in New Jersey, filed on behalf of a tenant at "Avalon Teaneck," alleges a "bait-and-switch" scheme. The complaint states that AvalonBay lures tenants with market-rate rents but later charges them substantial, undisclosed "Renewal Premiums" above market rate when they renew their leases, exploiting the inconvenience of moving. In October 2025, the court granted in part and denied in part AvalonBay's motion to dismiss, allowing core parts of the case to move forward.[26]