US Sues Cushman & Wakefield, 5 Other Landlords over Algorithmic Rent-Setting Scheme

Cortland reaches settlement requiring cooperation and an end to common pricing algorithms; Attorneys General from 10 states join lawsuit.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), joined by Attorneys General from 10 states, announced an expanded antitrust lawsuit alleging that six of the nation’s largest landlords colluded to raise apartment rents through algorithmic pricing software and shared competitively sensitive data. The complaint targets RealPage, a company that provides rent-setting tools, and landlords Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC (Greystar), Blackstone’s LivCor LLC (LivCor), Camden Property Trust (Camden), Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC (Cushman), Willow Bridge Property Company LLC (Willow Bridge), and Cortland Management LLC (Cortland).

Together, these landlords operate more than 1.3 million units across 43 states and the District of Columbia, affecting millions of renters nationwide. According to the amended complaint, they used each other’s confidential rental data—often channeled through RealPage’s “anticompetitive pricing algorithms”—to set higher rents instead of competing with each other.

“While Americans across the country struggled to afford housing, the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s action against RealPage and six major landlords seeks to end their practice of putting profits over people and make housing more affordable for millions of people across the country.”

“The amended complaint alleges the landlords — Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC (Greystar); Blackstone’s LivCor LLC (LivCor); Camden Property Trust (Camden); Cushman & Wakefield Inc and Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC (Cushman); Willow Bridge Property Company LLC (Willow Bridge) and Cortland Management LLC (Cortland) — participated in an unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing, harming millions of American renters.” - U.S. Department of Justice Release

Key Allegations

• Directly communicating with competitors’ senior managers about rents, occupancy, and other competitively sensitive topics. In one example, Greystar supplied Camden with information not only about very recent renewal rates, but also its approach to pricing for the upcoming quarter, its acceptance of RealPage’s pricing recommendations, use of concessions and competitively sensitive information about occupancy. Likewise, executives at Camden and LivCor communicated over the course of months about their pricing strategies, including plans for certain price increases.
• Regularly conducting “call arounds.” During these discussions, euphemistically referred to as “market surveys,” property managers called or emailed competitors to share, and sometimes discuss, competitively sensitive information about rents, occupancy, pricing strategies and discounts.
• Participating in “user groups” hosted by RealPage. For instance, landlords discussed via user groups how to modify the software’s pricing methodology, as well as their own pricing strategies. In one example, LivCor and Willow Bridge executives participated in a user group discussion of plans for renewal increases, concessions and acceptance rates of RealPage rent recommendations.
• Sharing information with competitors about parameters in RealPage’s software. As an example, at the request of Willow Bridge’s director of revenue management, Greystar’s director of revenue management supplied its standard auto-accept parameters for RealPage’s software, including the daily and weekly limits and the days of the week for which Greystar used “auto-accept.”

“In one example, Greystar supplied Camden with information not only about very recent renewal rates, but also its approach to pricing for the upcoming quarter, its acceptance of RealPage’s pricing recommendations, use of concessions and competitively sensitive information about occupancy.” - U.S. Department of Justice Release

Cortland’s Settlement

Cortland, which manages over 80,000 rental units in 13 states, agreed to settle with the DOJ and is barred from using competitors’ sensitive data or the same pricing algorithms without oversight from a court-appointed monitor. Under the proposed consent decree, Cortland must also cooperate in the ongoing DOJ investigation. As stated in the announcement:

“At the same time, the Justice Department filed a proposed consent decree with landlord Cortland that requires it to cooperate with the government, stop using its competitors’ sensitive data to set rents and stop using the same algorithm as its competitors without a corporate monitor.” - U.S. Department of Justice Release

Next Steps

The DOJ filed this lawsuit alongside co-plaintiffs from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. The proposed settlement with Cortland will undergo a 60-day public comment period per the Tunney Act, during which members of the public can submit written remarks before final judicial approval.

“Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed consent decree during a 60-day comment period to Chief, Technology and Digital Platforms Section, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 8600, Washington, D.C. 20530.” - U.S. Department of Justice Release

If the court ultimately approves the decree, Cortland’s compliance will be monitored to ensure it no longer uses algorithmic pricing tools or engages in sharing competitively sensitive data. Meanwhile, litigation continues against the remaining defendants—Greystar, LivCor, Camden, Cushman, and Willow Bridge—with the DOJ alleging their rent-setting practices continue to harm renters by limiting genuine competition in the housing market.

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