A coalition of nine states has announced a proposed $7 million settlement with Greystar Management Services LLC, the largest landlord in the United States, as part of ongoing litigation against RealPage and several large landlords. The lawsuit alleges that RealPage collected sensitive information from landlords such as Greystar, including rental pricing and lease terms, which was then used to generate algorithmic pricing recommendations for participating landlords using their competitors’ proprietary data.
According to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, “It’s hard to afford your life when your landlord is illegally coordinating with their rivals to keep your rent as high as possible. Landlords should be competing against one another to attract renters by offering fair prices, good amenities, and reasonable lease terms. RealPage’s information sharing helps landlords like Greystar bypass that free market by allowing those landlords to essentially coordinate prices with one another, which is both unfair to renters and flat out unlawful. I’m pleased to have reached a settlement that requires Greystar to stop participating in this scheme to rig the rental market, and I look forward to continuing this litigation to end these unjust practices and to make the market fairer for renters.”
Greystar manages nearly 950,000 rental units nationwide, including thousands in Minnesota. As part of the settlement, Minnesota will receive approximately $483,000. If approved by the court, the proposed consent decree would require Greystar not only to pay monetary penalties but also impose other requirements related to its business practices.
Attorney General Ellison encourages consumers or businesses with antitrust concerns in Minnesota to report them online through the Antitrust Report Form or by contacting his office at (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), or (800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay).
Attorneys general from North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Tennessee also joined in reaching this settlement.
