The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed settlement Tuesday requiring RealPage Inc. to overhaul the way its rental pricing software uses data, marking one of the most significant federal actions to date targeting algorithm-driven coordination in the housing market.
The agreement aims to resolve allegations that RealPage used nonpublic, competitively sensitive information from landlords to influence rent prices and align pricing among competing property management companies. Prosecutors said the practice distorted competition in rental markets across the United States, affecting millions of renters.
“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,” Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater said in announcing the action.
RealPage, based in Richardson, Texas, provides revenue management software widely used in the multifamily housing industry. According to the government’s complaint, the company collected confidential data from landlords and fed that information into pricing algorithms that recommended rent levels. The software also incorporated features that discouraged price reductions and promoted pricing alignment among competing property managers. In addition, RealPage allegedly facilitated information sharing by hosting meetings where competitors exchanged market-sensitive insights.
Under the proposed consent judgment, which requires court approval, RealPage would be required to:
- Stop using competitors’ nonpublic, competitively sensitive information to set rental prices in real time.
- End the use of active lease data for model training, limiting training to historical data at least 12 months old.
- Avoid using models that assess geographic pricing effects at narrower levels than the state.
- Remove or redesign software features that discouraged price decreases or promoted price alignment.
- Cease conducting market surveys that collect sensitive competitive information.
- Refrain from discussing nonpublic pricing trends or strategies in meetings related to revenue management tools.
- Accept a court-appointed monitor to oversee compliance.
- Cooperate with the government’s ongoing lawsuit against property management companies accused of using RealPage’s tools to coordinate prices.
The settlement and a competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register as required by the Tunney Act. Members of the public will have 60 days to submit comments before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina decides whether to approve the agreement.
Early this year, the Justice Department, joined by eight state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against RealPage Inc., alleging that the company operated an unlawful scheme to reduce competition among landlords and monopolize the market for commercial revenue-management software used to price apartment rentals. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, claimed RealPage violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
According to the complaint, RealPage contracted with competing landlords who shared nonpublic, competitively sensitive data—including rental rates and lease terms—which RealPage used to train and run its algorithmic pricing software. The tool then generated rent and leasing recommendations based on both the landlords’ own information and their rivals’ data. Prosecutors said that, in a competitive market, landlords would otherwise make independent decisions on pricing, concessions, and terms. The complaint also alleged that RealPage used this data-sharing arrangement to maintain a monopoly over revenue-management software.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the scheme caused renters to pay more by enabling landlords to align prices through RealPage’s algorithm. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco added that the software amounted to a “modern way to violate a century-old law,” noting that using artificial intelligence did not shield RealPage from antitrust liability. Other senior Justice Department officials said the company’s conduct undermined fair pricing, reduced housing options, and raised rents amid a national affordability crisis.
Internal documents cited in the complaint showed RealPage describing its software as designed to “maximize prices” and help landlords avoid competitive pressure. Executives acknowledged that RealPage’s tools aimed to raise rents, avoid price-cutting, and even encourage larger daily rent increases. Some landlords openly recognized the product’s reliance on proprietary competitor data, calling it “classic price fixing.”
The government further alleged that RealPage’s system encouraged landlords to follow the software’s recommendations through “auto-accept” features and compliance monitoring. The complaint said this led to higher prices, fewer price decreases, and reduced use of concessions such as free rent. With an estimated 80% share of the multi-family revenue-management software market, RealPage allegedly reinforced its dominance by conditioning access to pricing tools on continued data sharing.
