RealPage Hit With North Carolina Antitrust Probe Over Rent Costs

North Carolina’s attorney general is investigating whether software company RealPage Inc.'s use of private data violates antitrust laws, allowing property managers to artificially raise rents.

Attorney General Josh Stein (D) announced the investigation on Monday as part of a broader effort to protect homeowners and renters in North Carolina. The state-level probe comes amid an onslaught of private and state antitrust lawsuits accusing RealPage of leveraging its revenue-management algorithm to collude with landlords and raise costs for renters across the US.

“Housing is already too expensive for so many North Carolinians,” Stein said. “Companies cannot collude to illegally raise rents on tenants. My investigation into RealPage will shed light on whether this company’s operations violate the law and raise rental costs for residents.”

RealPage analyzes data supplied by landlords on apartment pricing and leasing to recommend rental unit prices in a specific area. The investigation will examine the legal implications of RealPage’s use of “non-public and sensitive competitive data” for its algorithms, Stein’s office said in an announcement.

Arizona’s attorney general sued RealPage and nine landlords last week over alleged rent price collusion. Previous lawsuits against the company have similarly alleged unlawful rent inflation, including a complaint filed in November by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) and a 2022 renter class action suit in San Diego.

Federal antitrust enforcers are also taking note of the role of artificial intelligence tools in the real estate industry, as companies increasingly rely on AI-powered information systems.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a statement of interest in November in support of renters in a private antitrust case against RealPage. The agency teamed up with the Federal Trade Commission last week to back a renter’s claim against software company Yardi Systems Inc.

RealPage didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, though the company has previously denied allegations of collusion.

RealPage spokesperson Jennifer Bowcock has said the antitrust case brought by Arizona’s attorney general is “based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how revenue management software works,” adding RealPage algorithms often recommend rent reductions.