America’s biggest landlords reached a $7 million settlement with nine states that sued property management giants for running an algorithm that property management and DOJ (Department of Justice) officials blamed for driving up housing rental costs.
The proposed settlement, filed on November 24, 2025 – in a North Carolina federal court – represents the latest to result from antitrust lawsuits targeting RealPage and similar software companies.
Prosecutors argued the scheme helped rival property managers to illegally inflate prices and drive up the costs of rent for people in need of a place to stay. All parties are awaiting the judge to sign the final approval which is scheduled to happen in 2026.
Reporter Clarence Walker first reported on the questionable rental hikes by Texas-based illegal algorithms in a NewsBlaze story Hi-Tech Under Fire: Did Algorithms Illegally Raise Property Rent for Thousands of Houstonians.
Doj Moves to Curb Realpage Pricing and Data-sharing
A court-appointed monitor will ensure compliance with the settlement, if it is accepted. The company also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their lawsuit against property managers that used its software.
“Whether it’s through smoke-filled back room deals or through an algorithm on your computer screen, colluding to drive up prices is illegal,” Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release.
“Families across the country are staring down an affordability crisis. Companies that intentionally fuel this unaffordability by raising prices to line their own pockets can be sure I will use the full force of my office to hold them accountable.”
Realpage Rent Algorithm Triggers Greystar Settlement
Greystar will no longer, per the agreement by all parties involved, use software to depend on other landlords’ confidential data to set rents. Greystar also agreed separately to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its use of RealPage. And in August, 2025, the company reached a separate nonmonetary deal with the Department of Justice to halt similar practices.
A 2022 ProPublica investigation showed RealPage was helping landlords decide rents in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior. The DOJ also sued six big landlords, accusing them of using algorithmic software to work together and raise rents. Some have reached settlements with prosecutors.
“Americans shouldn’t have to pay more rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law,” then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, announcing the initial lawsuit under the Biden Administration.
Among Houston-based landlords who operated using the algorithms that were identified at the beginning of the lawsuits were: Allied Orion Group, Camden Property Trust, Cortland Management, Greystar Management, Crow Holdings, and Trammel Crow. Cortland Management once owned at least 5000 residential properties in Houston, Texas.
In California, Greystar manages approximately 333 multifamily rental properties that use RealPage’s pricing software. Over the last four decades, housing needs have significantly outpaced housing production in California, according to the California Attorney General website.
Housing costs have skyrocketed, making it harder for Californians to keep a roof over their heads. California’s 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their paychecks on rent, with an estimated 700,000 Californians at risk of eviction.
Today’s settlement, subject to court approval, requires Greystar to pay $7 million in penalties and fees to the states.
Under the proposed settlement, Greystar must:
- Stop using any anticompetitive algorithm that uses rivals’ competitively sensitive data for pricing recommendations.
- Stop sharing competitively sensitive information with competitors.
- Accept a court-appointed monitor in certain situations tied to third-party pricing tools.
- Avoid RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords.
- Cooperate with states pursuing claims against RealPage.
“Through it all, our teams remained focused on serving customers and advancing the technology the industry relies on every day,” said Dirk Wakeham, RealPage’s president and CEO. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters.”
Joining Attorney General Bonta in reaching this settlement were the attorneys general of North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Prior Reporting and What Happens Next
A 2022 ProPublica investigation examined RealPage’s role in rent-setting and raised concerns from legal experts about cartel-like behavior in rental markets. ([ProPublica][4])
Both the Greystar settlement and the DOJ’s RealPage agreement still need court approval. The RealPage rent algorithm case now turns on how the court enforces the proposed limits on data-sharing and pricing alignment.
A copy of the proposed judgment can be found here.
Clarence Walker is a senior reporter and editor for houstonnewstoday.com. He can be reached at [HoustonNewsToday@yahoo.com].
