NJ Sues RealPage, Major NJ Landlords for Alleged Rent-Fixing Scheme That Inflated Prices

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs have filed a wide-reaching antitrust lawsuit against Texas-based property management software firm RealPage, Inc., and 10 of New Jersey’s largest landlords, alleging the parties conspired to fix rental prices through coordinated use of algorithmic pricing software. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, accuses the defendants of violating both state and federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.

“The defendants in this case unlawfully lined their pockets at the expense of New Jersey renters who struggled to pay the increasingly unlivable price levels imposed by this cartel,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Today we’re holding them accountable for unlawful conduct that fueled the state’s affordable housing crisis and deprived New Jerseyans of their fundamental right to shelter.”

At the heart of the complaint is the allegation that RealPage and the participating landlords used the company’s Revenue Management (RM) Software to artificially inflate rents across the state. The complaint states that RealPage’s products—YieldStar, AI Revenue Management (AIRM), and Lease Rent Options (LRO)—used proprietary, non-public data shared by landlords to generate pricing recommendations designed to maximize revenue rather than reflect true market rates. In doing so, the state alleges, the defendants suppressed competition and deprived renters of fair market pricing.

The defendant landlords include:

• Morgan Properties Management Company LLC

• AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

• Kamson Corp.

• LeFrak Estates, L.P. and Realty Operations Group LLC

• Greystar Management Services, LLC

• Aion Management LLC

• Cammeby’s Management Co. of New Jersey L.P.

• Veris Residential, Inc.

• Russo Property Management, LLC

• Bozzuto Management Company

Together, these landlords manage tens of thousands of units throughout New Jersey, in a rental market that already faces a significant shortage of affordable housing—particularly acute in North Jersey. The Attorney General’s office notes that more than half of low-income renters in the state are rent-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing.

“This lawsuit is about putting a stop to corporate greed at its worst,” said Jeremy Hollander, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “The housing market in New Jersey is already stacked in favor of landlords, but the defendants wanted more. Together, they conspired to replace normal market forces with pricing software designed to drive rents to levels that exceed what would prevail in a competitive market. Their unlawful conduct forced New Jersey residents to pay unlawfully inflated prices for what is often the largest single expense in their lives: rent.”

The complaint alleges that RealPage’s algorithm, fed by sensitive and real-time data from the defendant landlords, produced inflated rent prices and actively discouraged price reductions. The system allegedly included compliance tools such as automatic pricing, secret shopper tests, and active monitoring by RealPage to ensure adherence to its pricing models. Landlords were disincentivized from deviating from these prices and risked pushback from both RealPage and their peers if they did.

The lawsuit further asserts that landlords participated in closed-door user groups and industry meetings where they shared detailed data and aligned strategies, allegedly reinforcing a coordinated pricing scheme. The defendants are also accused of misleading consumers by misrepresenting RealPage’s role in pricing decisions, portraying inflated rates as market-driven when, according to the state, they were in fact algorithmically set to push rents higher.

In addition to antitrust violations, the lawsuit charges the defendants with breaches of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint describes a pattern of unconscionable commercial practices, including deceptive advertising and consumer communications that obscured the source and rationale behind escalating rent costs.

The Attorney General’s Office is seeking:

• An injunction to halt the alleged unlawful practices

• The appointment of a corporate monitor to oversee compliance

• Civil penalties, damages, and equitable relief

• Disgorgement of profits derived from the alleged scheme in New Jersey

The matter is being handled by Deputy Attorneys General Blair Gerold and Leslie Prentice, under the supervision of Antitrust Section Chief David Reichenberg and Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section Chief Jesse Sierant, with oversight from Assistant Attorney General Brian McDonough of the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group.

As the investigation continues, the Attorney General’s Office indicated that additional landlords may be named as co-conspirators. All allegations remain accusations at this stage, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven liable in court.

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