End Rental
Price-Fixing
RealPage helps landlords fix rent prices. We have the power to stop them.
Across the country, landlords are using to a new tool to raise rents and exacerbate the housing crisis: software algorithms.
Third-party platforms like RealPage and Yardi use non-public data to centralize pricing decisions across huge networks of landlords, boosting their profits while driving up housing costs. Instead of competing, landlords are using these platforms to collude.
In some metro areas, the use of rent-fixing software algorithms has played a role in double-digit rent increases.
The Problem
The Solution
Leaders at all levels of government—municipal, state, and federal—have the power to ban the use of rent-fixing algorithms. In July 2024, San Francisco, California, approved a first-in-the-nation ban.
State antitrust enforcers can also investigate rent-fixing. Arizona and Washington, D.C. have active lawsuits against RealPage.
See the maps below for other active legislation and litigation.
Resources
A New Culprit in the Housing Crisis: Rent-Setting Software Algorithms
A joint memo from the American Economic Liberties Project and Local Progress detailing how rent-fixing software harms communities and providing model legislation to ban it.
ProPublica: “Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.”
This ProPublica investigation first shed light on RealPage, setting in motion the lawsuits and legislation that would come later. The investigation breaks down not only how RealPage drives up rents, but also how it limits housing supply.
Interview with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
American Economic Liberties Project Director of State and Local Policy Pat Garofalo sits down for an interview Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, the first government official to take legal action against RealPage.
Legal Complaints
These legal complaints from antitrust suits by the Department of Justice, Arizona, and Washington, DC detail RealPage’s alleged illegal conduct in depth.
Testimony Before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
American Economic Liberties Project Sr. Legal Counsel Lee Hepner’s testimony in favor of the pioneering municipal ordinance breaks down how RealPage works and details its harms in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Legislative Solutions
In July, San Francisco became the first municipality to ban the practice. Since then, Philadelphia, San Jose, and the state of New Jersey have proposed similar legislation.
At the federal level, Congress has proposed the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act to ban landlords from using third-party rent-setting software that coordinates price and supply information.