FTC, Five States Ask Court to Undo Zillow-Redfin Deal and Force Redfin Back Into Rental Ads

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from five states said Monday they have proposed a court order that would undo the core terms of Zillow’s 2025 $100 million agreement with Redfin and require Redfin to reenter the online rental-listings advertising business.

The practical effect would be to force Redfin back into competing for apartment-advertising business on websites renters use to search for apartments and property managers use to market vacant units. The FTC says the proposed settlement is designed to restore competition in that market after Redfin exited under a deal with Zillow.

On Aug. 24, the FTC said it notified the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that it will file a stipulated order resolving its federal antitrust case against Zillow and Redfin. The proposed order is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Virginia and Washington.

The agency sued in September 2025 over a deal it says was executed Feb. 6, 2025. According to the FTC, Zillow paid Redfin $100 million and Redfin agreed to shut down its internet listing services, or ILS, rental-advertising business; exclusively repost apartment listings supplied by Zillow; move its customers to Zillow; and stay out of the ILS market for as long as nine years.

ILS platforms are the rental-listing websites that connect apartment hunters with property managers and landlords. In its 2025 complaint, the FTC said Zillow and Redfin operated two of the country’s largest rental-listing networks and alleged the agreement removed Redfin as an independent rival instead of requiring Zillow to compete head-to-head.

If the court approves the proposed order, Redfin would have to restart its ILS rental-advertising business within six months. The FTC said Redfin must rebuild the operation by creating the necessary technology infrastructure, hiring a general manager, sales staff and trained customer-support employees, and launching advertising to promote the relaunch.

The order also would require Redfin to make a multiyear commitment to operate the business and spend millions of dollars to grow it, with substantial investments over the coming years, according to the FTC.

The proposed settlement would also strip out restrictions that the FTC says limited Redfin’s ability to sell advertising on its own, display listings from its own customers, or keep nonpublic competitively sensitive information from Zillow.

To help Redfin rebuild, Zillow would have to assist with recruiting by providing employee information, waiving noncompete or anti-poaching obstacles, and not interfering with Redfin’s hiring or retention efforts, the FTC said.

The order also addresses customers tied up in Zillow contracts. For nine months after Redfin restarts the business, Zillow would have to allow certain customers to renegotiate contracts without cost or penalty if those agreements cannot be canceled within three months. Zillow also would have to notify customers of that flexibility.

Redfin would face monetary penalties if it misses the relaunch commitments and timelines described by the FTC. The companies also would have to notify the FTC before entering any future syndication agreement for multifamily rental properties that restricts competition for ILS customers. The proposed order would remain in effect for 10 years.

“Today’s settlement unwinds an agreement under which Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to stop competing and hand off all its customers to Zillow,” said Daniel Guarnera, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

The FTC said the commission approved the stipulated final order on a 2-0 vote. But the settlement does not take legal effect unless the federal district court judge approves and signs it.