US alleges software scheme to raise rent prices

US prosecutors unveiled sweeping antitrust charges Friday against a property management software company that they allege employs algorithms to enable collusion among landlords, harming renters across numerous US markets.

The Department of Justice, joined by eight US states, filed a civil lawsuit against Texas-based RealPage, which maintains an alleged "monopoly" over commercial revenue management software, according to a DOJ press release.

The complaint, filed in US court in North Carolina, alleges that RealPage's algorithmic software takes pricing inputs from competing landlords. The software then generates pricing recommendations, allowing landlords to charge more than they otherwise would, harming consumers.

The suit marks the first time US prosecutors have targeted anticompetitive behavior centered on computer algorithms, a US DOJ official said.

"Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. "Using software as the sharing mechanism does not immunize this scheme" from liability.

The lawsuit cites internal documents, including a comment from one RealPage executive that "there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down."

RealPage, which is based in Richardson, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

RealPage serves companies with three million housing units, with an especially strong presence in the US Sunbelt and the South, US Justice officials said during a media briefing.

In the market of Raleigh, North Carolina, RealPage accounted for about 40 percent of the rental market, US officials said