Government amends complaint against RealPage to include landlords.
The Justice Department, along with 10 state Attorneys General, has filed an amended antitrust complaint against RealPage and six major landlords, alleging they participated in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.
The landlords named in the complaint—Greystar, LivCor, Camden, Cushman & Wakefield, Willow Bridge, and Cortland—are accused of using RealPage’s pricing algorithms to share sensitive rental information and coordinate rent prices, reducing competition and keeping rents high. These landlords collectively manage more than 1.3 million units across 43 states and the District of Columbia.
The amended complaint details how these landlords communicated directly with each other about rents, occupancy, and pricing strategies, conducted “call arounds” to share sensitive information, participated in RealPage-hosted user groups to discuss pricing methodologies, and shared parameters for RealPage’s software. This coordination allegedly allowed them to set rents using each other’s competitively sensitive information, harming millions of renters.
The Justice Department has reached a proposed consent decree with Cortland, which will cooperate with the government’s investigation, cease using competitors’ sensitive data to set rents, and stop using the same pricing algorithms as its competitors without oversight from a court-appointed monitor. This consent decree, if approved by the court, aims to prevent Cortland from engaging in similar anticompetitive practices in the future.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki emphasized that the lawsuit seeks to end the practice of prioritizing profits over people and aims to make housing more affordable. The proposed consent decree and competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register, allowing for a 60-day public comment period before the court can finalize the judgment.
Additional Reading
DOJ, States Sue RealPage: Say Algorithmic Pricing Violates Antitrust Laws
DOJ Drops RealPage from Criminal Antitrust Probe
