Justice Department accuses RealPage of violating antitrust laws over rent-raising scheme

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit Friday against real estate software company RealPage Inc., accusing it of illegally allowing landlords to coordinate to inflate rental prices.

The lawsuit, filed jointly with attorneys general of states including North Carolina and California, accuses the company of violating antitrust laws by using an algorithm that landlords use to derive recommended rental prices for apartments.

The algorithm allows landlords to adjust their prices and avoid competition that would keep rents down, Justice Department officials said. The complaint quotes a RealPage executive as saying that “the greater good is for everyone to succeed rather than basically trying to compete with each other in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.”

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “Americans should not have to pay more rent because a company found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law.”

Attorneys general in several states have separately sued RealPage, accusing it of illegally price-fixing using algorithmic pricing software.

In a statement posted on its website in June, RealPage called the claims against the company “false and misleading” and argued that its software actually “contributes to a healthier and more efficient rental ecosystem.” RealPage said that landlords decide their own rental prices and can reject the recommendations provided by the software.

It is the latest example of aggressive antitrust enforcement by the Biden administration.

The Justice Department sued Apple in March and in May announced a massive lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its owner, Live Nation Entertainment. Law enforcement agencies have also launched investigations into the roles Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI have played in the AI ​​boom.