\n<\/p>\n
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they\u2019re published.<\/p>\n
What Happened:<\/strong> Greystar, the nation\u2019s largest landlord, has agreed to stop using algorithmic rent-setting software that federal prosecutors say could violate laws against price-fixing.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u201canti-competitive\u201d algorithm that relies on rivals\u2019 sensitive data to suggest rents, the department said in a statement.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What They Said:<\/strong> The settlement drew praise from both Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n The lawsuit began under the Biden administration, but Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi touted the agreement with Greystar last week, saying \u201cnowhere is competition more important than in making housing affordable again.\u201d<\/p>\n Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, head of DOJ\u2019s Antitrust Division, said that \u201cwhether in a smoke-filled room or through an algorithm, competitors cannot share competitively sensitive information or align prices to the detriment of American consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s story in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cThis settlement is good news for renters across the country,\u201d Klobuchar said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s critical the Justice Department continues to prosecute the case against RealPage and other major landlords to provide relief for all renters.\u201d<\/p>\n Response:<\/strong> Greystar did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement and said in a statement that it \u201cfirmly believes that its use of RealPage\u2019s revenue management software complies with all applicable laws.\u201d The company said it will continue to defend itself against claims brought by regulators and cited what it called \u201cunclear regulatory guidance around the use of revenue management tools.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe entered into these settlements to make clear the government\u2019s interpretation of the law and to ensure we continue to do things the right way,\u201d Greystar said.<\/p>\n Greystar also announced it had reached \u201can agreement in principle\u201d to settle litigation brought by a nationwide group of renters making similar allegations.<\/p>\n A Greystar spokesperson declined to comment further. <\/p>\n RealPage declined to comment.<\/p>\n In January, a RealPage executive called the federal case \u201cflawed\u201d and said the company was committed to \u201cvigorously defending ourselves.\u201d RealPage had already changed its software to remove nonpublic data, she said, despite its view that its technology was legal and \u201cpro-competitive,\u201d adding the company was being made a scapegoat for housing affordability problems stemming from an undersupply of housing stock.<\/p>\n Background:<\/strong> The proposed settlement is the latest development to follow ProPublica\u2019s 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\u2019s 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%.<\/p>\n The suit was joined by at least 10 attorneys general, including the one for California, the country\u2019s most populous state \u2014 home to roughly 17 million renters. One other landlord, Atlanta-based Cortland, has agreed to a settlement, as well.<\/p>\n Senators have also held hearings and introduced legislation seeking to ban the use of rent algorithms similar to RealPage\u2019s. Cities around the country, including San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, moved to bar landlords from using similar algorithms to set rents.<\/p>\n Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Greystar has agreed to stop sharing its own \u201ccompetitively sensitive\u201d information with rival companies. And it won\u2019t attend meetings of competitors hosted by RealPage.<\/p>\n Why It Matters:<\/strong> The DOJ\u2019s moves against RealPage \u2014 and its landlord customers \u2014 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 \u201ca formal handshake in a clandestine meeting,\u201d federal prosecutors wrote in one filing. \u201cAlgorithms are the new frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s \u201cpro-consumer agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, as part of the deal, Greystar has agreed to cooperate with the DOJ\u2019s monopolization claims against RealPage. The case is ongoing. RealPage has sought to dismiss the suit, saying \u201cit fails to plead anticompetitive effects in a relevant market,\u201d among other things.<\/p>\n Read the Original Reporting<\/p>\n \n Rent Going Up? One Company\u2019s Algorithm Could Be Why.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Company That Makes Rent-Setting Software for Apartments Accused of Collusion, Lawsuit Says<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Justice Department Sues Six of the Nation\u2019s Largest Landlords in Effort to Stop Alleged Price-Fixing in Rental Markets<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n Mariam Elba contributed research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they\u2019re published. What Happened: Greystar, the nation\u2019s 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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[8918,8917,247,8919,5765,415],"class_list":{"0":"post-15342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-algorithmic","9":"tag-greystar","10":"tag-propublica","11":"tag-rentsetting","12":"tag-software","13":"tag-stop"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}