In a significant development that could impact renters across Utah, an antitrust lawsuit has been expanded to include some of the nation’s largest landlords managing over 100 multifamily rental buildings in the state. This lawsuit, originally filed by the U.S. Department of Justice along with eight other states, accuses RealPage Inc. of violating antitrust laws by collaborating with landlords to suppress competition in apartment pricing.
The lawsuit has now been broadened to include six major landlord companies: Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, Blackstone’s LivCor LLC, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield Inc, Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, Willow Bridge Property Company LLC, and Cortland Management LLC. These companies are alleged to have participated in an unlawful scheme to reduce competition among landlords, thereby harming millions of American renters.
Allegations of Collusion and Price Fixing
The amended complaint argues that the six landlords actively engaged in a scheme to set their rents using each other’s competitively sensitive information through common pricing algorithms. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas commented, “That information has caused landlords, at least seemingly, to collude. To know what rents are, to know what other people are charging. To know how much they can get instead of bidding openly in the marketplace.”
If proven, this would constitute a violation of antitrust laws, which are designed to ensure that consumers receive a fair price. “We don’t want everyone setting prices based on what everyone else is doing,” Skordas added. “We want them to compete fairly in the marketplace so that consumers can get the best price and not necessarily the providers of service.”
Impact on Utah Renters
The landlords implicated in the lawsuit manage at least 20% of multifamily units in Salt Lake County and at least 135 buildings across Utah. The outcome of this lawsuit could influence rental prices statewide. Skordas noted, “It could require landlords to not share information. To not benefit from one another’s information and to just set their prices based on what they think the market will support. That could cause rents to go down; it could cause them to go up. Who knows? But that’s what the government is trying to do … just make sure there’s a fair and balanced marketplace.”
Potential Consequences
Proving a violation of antitrust laws is challenging, as the prosecution must demonstrate that data from competitors, rather than the market, is influencing landlords to adjust prices. The Department of Justice press release claims to have evidence that the listed landlords broke antitrust laws in several ways. These include directly communicating with competitors’ senior managers about rents, occupancy, and other competitively sensitive topics, and participating in RealPage “user groups,” where pricing strategies were discussed.
If the prosecution is successful, the defendants could face various consequences, including reimbursing consumers for losses, paying prosecution costs, significant fines, and potentially shutting down these pricing platforms. RealPage has stated that its software “reacts to the market realities; it does not drive them.”
For further details, you can read the original article on KSL NewsRadio.
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