Justice Department Sues Six Large Landlords for Algorithmic …

Jan 7, 2025 · Justice Department Sues Six Large Landlords for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters ... the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent …

FAQs about Justice Department Sues Six Large Landlords for Algorithmic … Coupon?

Why is the Justice Department suing large landlords?

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is suing several large landlords for allegedly coordinating to keep Americans’ rents high by using both an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information with their competitors to boost profits. ...

Did Justice Department reveal unnamed apartment landlords?

At the time of the initial lawsuit, the Justice Department mentioned six apartment landlords but didn’t disclose the companies and didn’t sue them. Tuesday’s announcement was the first time the federal government revealed those unnamed landlords and added them as defendants. ...

Why did landlords share sensitive information about rental prices?

“While Americans across the country struggled to afford housing, the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. ...

Is RealPage causing a lawsuit against landlords?

Those landlords were added to an existing lawsuit against RealPage, which runs an algorithm that recommends rental prices to landlords. Prosecutors say the algorithm uses sensitive competitive information, allowing landlords to align their prices and avoid competition that would otherwise push down rents. ...

Did the six landlords participate in a 'competitive pricing scheme'?

The amended complaint alleges that the six landlords actively participated in a scheme to set their rents using each other’s competitively sensitive information through common pricing algorithms. Along with using RealPage’s anticompetitive pricing algorithms, these landlords coordinated through a variety of means, including: ...

Who is suing RealPage for Algorithmic pricing?

The Justice Department, together with its state co-plaintiffs, filed an amended complaint today in its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, to sue six of the nation’s largest landlords for participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters. ...