RealPage Settlement Reached Over Rental Price Fixing Software

Settlement with the state of Nevada is first to be reached in a series of RealPage lawsuits accusing the company of colluding with landlords to fix rental prices in certain markets.

Software developer RealPage has admitted to no wrongdoing in a settlement agreement reached with the state of Nevada, over allegations that the company has colluded with landlords to artificially inflate rental rates throughout the state.

RealPage is a Texas-based property management technology firm whose software is used by landlords nationwide to manage tenant screening, rent-setting, utility billing and other core functions. The company’s platform has become a dominant tool in the rental housing market. 

However, in recent years, critics have warned that RealPage’s pricing algorithm may let landlords coordinate rent increases in ways that stifle competition, raising concerns the software could be used to artificially inflate housing costs in violation of antitrust laws.

Earlier this year, attorneys general from nine states joined the U.S. Department of Justice in filing a RealPage antitrust lawsuit accusing the company of anticompetitive practices. At least one state, Washington, later chose to leave the joint case and pursue its own separate antitrust action against the company. 

At the same time, renters across the country have also filed lawsuits claiming RealPage’s software relies on faulty or biased algorithms that drive up housing costs in many already competitive markets.

In a press release issued by RealPage on September 19, the company announced that Nevada’s Attorney General will drop all charges, while RealPage will make a $200,000 donation to support local organizations that help residents with housing down payments and rent assistance.

The settlement comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford, and marks the first time RealPage has reached a settlement regarding any of the litigation it faces in state and federal courts across the country.

RealPage did not admit wrongdoing under the agreement, but consented to new limits on how it handles rental data in Nevada. The company can only use nonpublic information to calculate rents if the data is at least three months old, anonymized and drawn from a minimum of 10 properties. 

The same restrictions apply to publishing rent or occupancy data and to sharing data with its affiliates. 

In addition, RealPage will provide annual certifications to Nevada for the next five years and train its revenue management staff on antitrust compliance. In return, the state has agreed to release RealPage from all claims related to its revenue management products.

The settlement with the state of Nevada has no bearing on lawsuits currently being pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice, additional states or other individuals, which are progressing in various other state and federal courts around the country. All federal renter lawsuits against RealPage have been centralized before U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. in the Middle District of Tennessee.

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