The US DOJ sues RealPage, alleging its software helps property managers collude to drive up rental prices on millions of units, violating antitrust law

- Prosecutors allege software drives up prices on rental units — Company says rent software uses anonymous, aggregated data

Bloomberg 2024-08-25

Context & Ripple Effects

The complaint is the escalation of a DOJ inquiry into whether RealPage’s rent-setting tools facilitated landlord coordination, an issue first surfaced in the reported federal investigation into its pricing software. It also follows reports that the agency was preparing a case against the company by late summer, now reflected in the planned DOJ action.

The case matters because it tests whether a software intermediary can face antitrust exposure when customers use common pricing infrastructure and market data. RealPage contests the premise, saying its data is anonymous and aggregated.

First-order effects

RealPage must defend its pricing software and its use by property managers against allegations that the product enabled unlawful coordination.
Property managers using the software face immediate legal and compliance scrutiny over how they set rents and share or rely on market data.

Second-order effects

Other rental-pricing vendors and large housing operators may reassess product features, data-access rules, and documentation that could be characterized as coordinating competitors’ pricing.
The lawsuit raises the cost of deploying shared pricing systems in multifamily housing, potentially pushing customers toward more independently governed pricing processes while the case proceeds.

Third-order effects

If the DOJ’s theory prevails, antitrust risk could increasingly attach to algorithmic intermediaries that shape competitors’ pricing decisions, not only to the businesses setting the final price.
The durable policy question is whether aggregated market data and automated recommendations can remain useful commercial tools without becoming a mechanism for coordinated conduct; the case will help define that boundary.

The trend: Antitrust enforcement is extending from explicit agreements toward the software, data, and recommendation systems that can organize market behavior at scale.

Discussion

@chrisgeidner Chris Geidner on threads
Update: The RealPage case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs, a 70-year-old Obama appointee and the first Black woman on the federal district court bench in North Carolina.
@modic123 Chirag Modi on x
RealPage has >80% market share as a PMS solution. Which other software companies have such a high market share in their end markets? [image]
@bobfergusonag Bob Ferguson on x
RealPage drove up rent for Washingtonians as we face an affordable housing crisis. We're going to stop their illegal price-fixing. I joined a bipartisan lawsuit yesterday with other AGs against RealPage, a software company that colluded with landlords to inflate rental prices. [i…
@thejusticedept @thejusticedept on x
Today, DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against RealPage Inc. for its unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing & to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments. [image]
@thejusticedept @thejusticedept on x
Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters RealPage's Pricing Algorithm Violates Antitrust Laws 🔗: https://www.justice.gov/... [image]
@aaronpeskin Aaron Peskin on x
As SF faces down escalating evictions, we need leadership in SF ready to take on predatory schemes like RealPage, protect renters from rent-gouging and keep people in their homes. Via @SFist https://sfist.com/...
@innercitypress @innercitypress on x
On DOJ antitrust case against RealPage for helping landlords collude to raise rents, official we'll leave unnamed just deployed smoking-gun quote from their complaint in North Carolina federal court, below, threadette below that [image]
@anniewaldman Annie Waldman on x
Two years ago, ProPublica investigated RealPage for its role in helping landlords use algorithms to set rent prices. Today, the DOJ has sued the company, accusing it of taking part in an illegal price-fixing scheme. Major impact from @hvogell's reporting https://www.propublica.or…
@repdangoldman Rep. Dan Goldman on x
As I pointed out last year, RealPage's algorithm enabled landlords to engage in anti-competitive business practices, improperly hiking rents more than the market would dictate. I commend @TheJusticeDept for holding them accountable in this first-of-its-kind antitrust case.
@aaronpeskin Aaron Peskin on x
My law to ban automated rent-fixing was right move to protect San Franciscans as we face down a wave of new evictions - today the Dept of Justice announced legal action against RealPage for its predatory & exploitative schemes. Via @sfchronicle @BobEgelko https://www.sfchronicle.…
@rbreich Robert Reich on x
The six largest corporate landlords made $300M in increased profits in Q1 thanks to higher rents. All six have been sued for their use of RealPage, a software that allegedly allows them to fix rent prices. The Biden-Harris DOJ has now sued RealPage over the scheme. This is big.
@senjeffmerkley Senator Jeff Merkley on x
Folks feel like the economy is rigged against them because huge companies are putting profits ahead of people. The suit against RealPage is a big move by @TheJusticeDept and @ORDOJ to bring down the cost of rent and put PEOPLE first! https://apnews.com/...
@repjayapal Rep. Pramila Jayapal on x
I joined @JanSchakowsky to urge DOJ and FTC to investigate @RealPage for anticompetitive practices. Proud to see @TheJusticeDept & WA take this up and sue to stop @RealPage from unlawfully colluding with landlords to spike rent prices.
@senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x
RealPage's software helps landlords illegally coordinate rent hikes, hurting families in Massachusetts and beyond. After my investigation exposing these harmful practices, I asked @TheJusticeDept to act. This new lawsuit is an important step to cut housing costs.
@rbreich Robert Reich on x
RealPage, which was sued by the DOJ today, allegedly allows corporate landlords to collude to jack up rents via an algorithmic price-setting software. It's just one of many examples of corporations using shady techniques to keep prices high while they rake in record profits. [vid…
@ncago @ncago on x
BREAKING: Attorney General @JoshStein_ filed a bipartisan lawsuit against software company RealPage, alleging that it violated antitrust law and pushed apartment prices artificially high for renters in North Carolina and across the country. https://ncdoj.gov/... [image]
@keldonb Keldon Bester on x
Funny to learn that RealPage is owned by Thoma Bravo, who the Competition Bureau prevented from monopolizing software for the oil and gas industry. Frequent flyer!
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
The rent is too damn high! Kamala Harris was right about price hikes and big business. Here's my write-up of today's antitrust attack on corporate landlords' illegal rent hikes and the data firm RealPage coordinating their conspiracy. https://www.thebignewsletter.com/ ...
@joshstein_ Josh Stein on x
🚨JUST IN: I've filed a bipartisan lawsuit against RealPage for violating antitrust laws, leading to higher rent prices in North Carolina and beyond. The cost of living is already too high — and I'll continue to crack down on companies trying to take advantage of consumers.
@modestproposal1 @modestproposal1 on x
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but if you are operating a business that knows it may be committing antitrust violations, don't put a 😀in a marketing deck after writing the words “That could be considered price collusion, and it's illegal” [image]
@rppublicpolicy @rppublicpolicy on x
We are disappointed that, after multiple years of education and cooperation on the antitrust matters concerning RealPage, the DOJ has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years. It is merely
@moreperfectus @moreperfectus on x
BREAKING: The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage, alleging that the company's algorithm is used by landlords who collude to raise rents. This housing cartel and their algorithmic conspiracy could be why rent is up 20% since 2020. …
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
“Our tool ensures that [landlords] are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.” BOOM. That's illegal, and antitrust enforcer Jonathan Kanter just dropped the hammer.
@leehepner Lee Hepner on x
Earlier this week, RealPage sent me a cease & desist letter regarding my public comments about their alleged price-fixing scheme. Today, the Justice Dept and 8 State AGs sued RealPage for allegedly harming millions of renters through said scheme... [image]
@chopracfpb Rohit Chopra on x
If you want to understand some of the ways that private equity-owned companies are pushing up the cost of housing, here's a good example. Today, @TheJusticeDept and several states sued @RealPage for its algorithmic collusion scheme to drive up rents. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@johnmarknewman John Mark Newman on x
Imagine the look on the DOJ attorney's face who searched the document production for “price fixing” — just on the off chance it popped — and found this, from the RealPage antitrust complaint: [image]
@moreperfectus @moreperfectus on x
DOJ antitrust enforcer Jonathan Kanter just spoke about the government suing RealPage for running an illegal rent raising cartel: “In prosperous times, that competition should limit rent hikes. In harder times, competition should bring down rent, making housing more affordable.” …
@amyklobuchar Amy Klobuchar on x
When landlords collude to delegate pricing decisions to algorithms, renters can lose out on the benefits of competition and face higher rates. I called on the DOJ to investigate RealPage's use of algorithms to set rents and now they are taking action with a major antitrust case.
@kristakbrown Krista Brown on x
Credit to @hvogell and @propublica who's reporting sparking these RealPage suits. Basically all of the footnotes on senate letters to DOJ asking for an investigation are her stories or RealPage statements. [image]
@chrisgeidner @chrisgeidner on x
lmaoooooo these quotes from ag garland's announcement of the realpage antitrust lawsuit [image]
@rajiinio Deb Raji on x
@themarkup My main issue - which I was glad to see featured prominently in this complaint - is how much they try to automate the rental process end to end (setting rental prices, screening tenants, etc) and *completely* box the humans out of any decision-making.
@rajiinio Deb Raji on x
RealPage is a clear monopoly player in the protech space & has been using algos of all sorts, impacting millions of tenants, unchecked for years. Next, it would be great to see some scrutiny on their role in tenant screening, reported by @themarkup here: https://themarkup.org/...
@khushitavasant @khushitavasant on x
On DOJ algorithmic rent price-fixing suit, @RealPage says it is “disappointed” that after multiple years of education/ cooperation, “DOJ has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years.” [image…
@modestproposal1 @modestproposal1 on x
In RealPage's defense, it appears multifam landlords already uh coordinated, just using Google Drive instead. Just they're just providing a level of efficiency to the industry. [image]
@sengianaris Sen. Mike Gianaris on x
Real Page has exacerbated the affordability crisis in the American housing market. Their market manipulation and price fixing, is just one of the many anti-trust issues I am working to address, including my bill the 21st Century Anti-Trust Act
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
“In its pitch to prospective clients, RealPage describes AIRM's and YieldStar's access to competitors' granular, transactional data as a meaningful tool that it claims enables landlords to outperform their properties' competitors by 2-7%.” Interesting.
@pat_garofalo @pat_garofalo on x
“Another landlord that used YieldStar told RealPage that within a week of adopting YieldStar they started increasing their rents, and within eleven months had raised rents more than 25% and eliminated concessions.”
@econliberties @econliberties on x
🚨BIG: @JusticeATR has filed an antitrust suit against RealPage, a software company that helps landlords collude to raise rents across the US. The company brags about “everybody succeeding vs. trying to essentially compete against one another,” says AAG Jonathan Kanter. [video]
@pat_garofalo @pat_garofalo on x
Really important point here: Realpage is not only rocket fuel for raising rents in up markets, but also acts as a parachute limiting rent decreases in down markets. [image]
@azagmayes @azagmayes on x
Glad to see the @TheJusticeDept and eight more states join the fight against @RealPage for its price fixing scheme that has jacked up rents on Arizonans and renters across the country.
@alexiskweed Alexis Keenan on x
The @TheJusticeDept + states have sued AI-enabled rental software co @RealPage alleging the co broke US competition law by selling software to landlords that collects nonpublic info from competing landlords and using that combined information to make pricing recommendations. [ima…
r/politics r on reddit
U.S. Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents
r/tech r on reddit
US sues RealPage, claims rental-pricing algorithm used by landlords is illegal
r/politics r on reddit
US sues RealPage, claims rental-pricing algorithm used by landlords is illegal
r/law r on reddit
US sues RealPage, claims rental-pricing algorithm used by landlords is illegal
r/povertyfinance r on reddit
U.S. Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents
r/LandlordLove r on reddit
U.S. Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents
r/NorthCarolina r on reddit
Wonder why rent has gotten so high?
r/behindthebastards r on reddit
The rent software companies are finally being sued for price fixing
r/sanfrancisco r on reddit
Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters
r/Seattle r on reddit
U.S. [with Washington] Accuses Software Maker RealPage of Enabling Collusion on Rents
r/REBubble r on reddit
Thoma Bravo's Realpage Sued by US in Rental Collusion Case

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