by Heather Vogell
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What Happened: Greystar, the nation’s largest landlord, has agreed to stop using algorithmic rent-setting software that federal prosecutors say could violate laws against price-fixing.
The agreement is part of a proposed settlement with the Justice Department to resolve claims by federal authorities that the company had colluded with other landlords to raise rents in cities across the country.
The deal was announced by the DOJ on Friday but still must be approved by a judge. If it is, it will bar Greystar, which is based in South Carolina and manages nearly 950,000 apartments nationwide, from using any “anti-competitive” algorithm that relies on rivals’ sensitive data to suggest rents, the department said in a statement.
Greystar was using rent-setting algorithms from RealPage, a Texas-based software-maker who was the subject of a ProPublica investigation in 2022 that showed the firm was helping landlords decide prices in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior. The DOJ has also sued RealPage.
What They Said: The settlement drew praise from both Republicans and Democrats.
The lawsuit began under the Biden administration, but Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi touted the agreement with Greystar last week, saying “nowhere is competition more important than in making housing affordable again.”
Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, head of DOJ’s Antitrust Division, said that “whether in a smoke-filled room or through an algorithm, competitors cannot share competitively sensitive information or align prices to the detriment of American consumers.”
The settlement was praised by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who urged the DOJ to investigate anticompetitive practices in the apartment market after ProPublica’s story in 2022.
“This settlement is good news for renters across the country,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “It’s critical the Justice Department continues to prosecute the case against RealPage and other major landlords to provide relief for all renters.”
Response: Greystar did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement and said in a statement that it “firmly believes that its use of RealPage’s revenue management software complies with all applicable laws.” The company said it will continue to defend itself against claims brought by regulators and cited what it called “unclear regulatory guidance around the use of revenue management tools.”
“We entered into these settlements to make clear the government’s interpretation of the law and to ensure we continue to do things the right way,” Greystar said.
Greystar also announced it had reached “an agreement in principle” to settle litigation brought by a nationwide group of renters making similar allegations.
A Greystar spokesperson declined to comment further.
RealPage declined to comment.
In January, a RealPage executive called the federal case “flawed” and said the company was committed to “vigorously defending ourselves.” RealPage had already changed its software to remove nonpublic data, she said, despite its view that its technology was legal and “pro-competitive,” adding the company was being made a scapegoat for housing affordability problems stemming from an undersupply of housing stock.
Background: The proposed settlement is the latest development to follow ProPublica’s 2022 investigation, which also mentioned Greystar. Dozens of tenants sued RealPage after the initial story. The Justice Department filed an antitrust complaint against RealPage in August 2024, and in January, it sued six of the nation’s landlords, including Greystar, accusing them of improperly working together to raise rents. In their complaint, prosecutors said one landlord told RealPage that it started increasing rents within a week of adopting the software and, within 11 months, had raised them more than 25%.
The suit was joined by at least 10 attorneys general, including the one for California, the country’s most populous state — home to roughly 17 million renters. One other landlord, Atlanta-based Cortland, has agreed to a settlement, as well.
Senators have also held hearings and introduced legislation seeking to ban the use of rent algorithms similar to RealPage’s. Cities around the country, including San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, moved to bar landlords from using similar algorithms to set rents.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Greystar has agreed to stop sharing its own “competitively sensitive” information with rival companies. And it won’t attend meetings of competitors hosted by RealPage.
Why It Matters: The DOJ’s moves against RealPage — and its landlord customers — for using shared data and technology were seen as an indication that authorities were willing to wade into a fraught corner of federal antitrust law. In the past, collusion happened with “a formal handshake in a clandestine meeting,” federal prosecutors wrote in one filing. “Algorithms are the new frontier.”
The proposed settlement is also significant as businesses watch to see how aggressively the Trump administration will pursue antitrust cases. Bondi said the agreement aligned with the president’s “pro-consumer agenda.”
Now, as part of the deal, Greystar has agreed to cooperate with the DOJ’s monopolization claims against RealPage. The case is ongoing. RealPage has sought to dismiss the suit, saying “it fails to plead anticompetitive effects in a relevant market,” among other things.
Mariam Elba contributed research.
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