Realpage, Doj Settle Antitrust Rental Pricing Lawsuit

Rental pricing software firm RealPage has settled its lawsuit with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The two announced the proposed settlement, which is still subject to court approval on Monday. 

According to the settlement announcement, RealPage will not face any financial penalties. The company said the settlement is not an admission of liability and noted that there will be no disruption to customer operations. 

The proposed agreement requires RealPage to stop using competitors’ nonpublic information to determine rental prices and stop using active lease data to train its software models. RealPage must also cease using geographic models narrower than the state level, remove or redesign features that limit price decreases, stop conducting market surveys to collect competitively sensitive information, and avoid discussing market analysis trends based on nonpublic data.

Additionally, RealPage must also cooperate with the DOJ’s lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software and accept a court-appointed monitor to ensure compliance. 

An important milestone

“This resolution marks an important milestone for RealPage, our customers, and the multifamily industry,” Dirk Wakeham, RealPage’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We are convinced that RealPage is part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing, helping operators make informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters.”

The DOJ filed its lawsuit against RealPage in August 2024. In January 20025, the DOJ filed an amended complaint adding six property management companies including Greystar, LivCor, Camden, Cushman, Willow Bridge and Cortland as defendants in the lawsuit, as well as several state attorneys general as plaintiffs. 

The complaint alleged that RealPage’s revenue management software has relied on nonpublic, competitively sensitive information shared by landlords to set rental prices, and that the software has included features designed to limit rental price decreases and enable competitors to align their prices. 

The DOJ has since settled with Greystar, which had been utilizing RealPage’s software to help it set rental prices. 

“Competing companies must make independent pricing decisions, and with the rise of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools, we will remain at the forefront of vigorous antitrust enforcement,” Abigail Slater, the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, said in a statement. 

This is the second lawsuit RealPage has settled regarding its rental pricing software. In early October, the 26 defendants in a class action lawsuit filed by consumers, which included RealPage and Greystar, agreed to settle that lawsuit for a total $141 million. Some of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in that lawsuit included those at Scott & Scott Attorneys at Law LLP., which is the same firm alleging similar claims against Optimal Blue.