Giant landlord Greystar settles with California for colluding on rents in Los Angeles and elsewhere
- Greystar, which manages 333 apartment complexes in Southern California, [and 1 million units nationwide] will cease using RealPage’s algorithmic pricing software as part of a settlement with California.
- The company and others will pay $7 million across nine states and help prosecute RealPage and landlords accused of conspiring to artificially inflate rents.
- The settlement represents a major victory for renters and signals mounting legal trouble for RealPage as antitrust lawsuits spread nationwide.
RealPage described its software as a tool for maximizing rent and outperforming the market. Authorities also alleged the company made it more difficult for landlords to reject its recommendations than accept them.
“There is greater good in everybody [i.e. the landlords] succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry [i.e. rents] down,” a RealPage executive said, according to the lawsuit.
More on the larger DOJ/states' antitrust complaint against RealPage.