RealPage, DOJ reach settlement in antitrust lawsuit
Though RealPage must meet a handful of requirements under the proposed settlement, the tech company won’t face any financial penalties.
A real estate technology company has agreed to a court settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the use of its multifamily rental housing market software.
RealPage and the DOJ both announced the agreement on Nov. 24.
What's in the settlement: According to the DOJ, the settlement requires RealPage to stop using competitors' nonpublic information to determine rental prices. If the settlement is approved by the court, RealPage would also be required to:
Cease use of active lease data for the purposes of training its software models
Not use geographic models narrower than at the state level
Remove or redesign features that limit price decreases
Stop conducting market surveys to collect competitively sensitive information
Avoid discussing market analysis or trends based on nonpublic data
Cooperate with the DOJ's lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software
Accept a court-appointed monitor to ensure compliance
What RealPage had to say: In a news release, RealPage said the settlement "provides resolution and clarity" for customers and noted that the software can be operated in "compliance with the views of federal antitrust enforcers."
There are no financial penalties or damages in the proposed agreement, nor are there "findings or admissions of wrongdoing," the company said.
"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," RealPage President and CEO Dirk Wakeham said.
How we got here: The DOJ first filed its lawsuit against RealPage in August 2024. Five other companies — LivCor, Camden, Cushman, Willow Bridge and Cortland — were named in the DOJ's amended complaint five months later, which several state attorneys general joined.
The complaint alleged that the rental companies "shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high," Doha Mekki, acting assistant attorney general of the DOJ's antitrust division, said at the time.
The DOJ reached a settlement agreement with Greystar — one of the residential rental companies that used RealPage's software — about three months ago.