In a sweeping antitrust action aimed at combating rising rental prices, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), alongside ten state Attorneys General, filed (7 January) an amended lawsuit today accusing six of the nation’s largest landlords of participating in an illegal algorithmic pricing scheme that has driven up rent costs for millions of American renters.
The lawsuit targets Greystar Real Estate Partners, Blackstone’s LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Willow Bridge Property Company, and Cortland Management, all of which operate a combined total of more than 1.3 million apartment units across 43 states and Washington, D.C.
The complaint alleges that these companies used common pricing algorithms and shared sensitive rental information to coordinate rent increases, significantly reducing competition in the rental market.
The complaint underscores how these landlords used RealPage’s pricing software, which facilitated the sharing of competitors’ pricing data and coordinated strategies, resulting in higher rental costs for renters across the country. The landlords allegedly communicated directly with each other’s senior managers about occupancy, pricing, and concessions, effectively coordinating their rent-setting practices. In addition, the landlords participated in “user groups” hosted by RealPage, where they discussed and adjusted the software’s pricing methodologies to suit their business strategies.
“This action is about holding accountable those who exploit market power to artificially inflate rents at the expense of millions of renters,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. “These landlords chose to use their collective power and sensitive data to artificially drive up rents, putting profits ahead of the needs of American tenants.”
The lawsuit also highlights several methods of coordination, including “call-arounds,” where property managers routinely shared rent, occupancy, and pricing strategies with competitors. These practices allegedly violated antitrust laws by reducing competition, which could have helped alleviate the ongoing housing affordability crisis.
The DOJ announced a proposed settlement with one of the defendants, Cortland, which manages over 80,000 rental units. As part of the settlement, Cortland will agree to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and is prohibited from using competitors’ sensitive pricing data or third-party algorithms without external monitoring. This settlement is aimed at preventing future anticompetitive behavior.
The case, which includes co-plaintiffs from states such as California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and others, seeks to end the use of algorithms that have coordinated rent-setting activities across the industry, a practice that has exacerbated the already rising housing costs. The lawsuit further demands that the companies cease using RealPage’s software for pricing without judicial oversight and that they no longer share competitively sensitive data among each other.
The Justice Department and state Attorneys General hope that this case will send a strong message to the real estate industry, emphasizing that such illegal coordination, which undermines market competition, will not be tolerated. The lawsuit is designed not only to address past behavior but also to deter future anticompetitive conduct in the housing market.
As part of the legal process, the proposed settlement with Cortland will be open to public comment for 60 days. The DOJ will review the feedback before seeking approval from the court. The outcome of the case, expected to have a significant impact on the industry, could pave the way for stronger antitrust enforcement in housing markets across the U.S.
