CNN —The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against the real estate company RealPage, alleging the company’s software uses landlord data to artificially inflate the price of rent across the United States by quelling competition in the market.
According to the complaint, the Texas-based company uses nonpublic data from landlords to train RealPage’s algorithm for pricing recommendations, creating a “vast scheme to subvert the competitive process,” one Justice Department official said.
The lawsuit from the Justice Department comes amid a rise in corporate landlords – companies that own large numbers of rental units – a fact that was central to the case.
“In a free market, these landlords would otherwise be competing independently to attract renters based on pricing, discounts, concessions, lease terms, and other dimensions of apartment leasing,” the Justice Department said in announcing the charges.
“RealPage also uses this scheme and its substantial data trove to maintain a monopoly in the market for commercial revenue management software.”This is a developing story.
Persons:
General Merrick Garland, “, ” Garland, “ RealPage
Organizations:
CNN, The Justice, Justice Department, Justice, Department
Locations:
United States, Texas, Southern
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