California joins price-fixing lawsuit against rental website RealPage

The Justice Department and attorneys general from eight states, including California and Oregon, filed a lawsuit Friday accusing the web-based company RealPage of collecting confidential information from landlords nationwide, making it easier for them to coordinate and raise rent prices for millions of tenants.

The Justice Department alleges that RealPage implemented an “illegal scheme to reduce competition among landlords in apartment pricing and monopolize the market” that “deprives tenants of the benefits of competition in apartment rental terms and harms millions of Americans.”

“Americans should not have to pay more rent just because a company found a new way to collude with landlords and break the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege that RealPage's pricing algorithm allows landlords to exchange confidential, competitively sensitive information and adjust their rents. Using software as an exchange mechanism does not exempt this system from liability under the Sherman Act, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws and protect the American people from those who violate them.”