Overview

• DC's Attorney General, Brian Schwalb, has filed a lawsuit against 14 major landlords and property management software provider RealPage, accusing them of colluding to artificially raise rents in the city.
• The suit alleges that the landlords used RealPage's software, YieldStar, to suggest rental prices based on a pricing algorithm, keeping the rents high in a city facing a housing affordability crisis.
• It is claimed that millions of dollars have been paid by renters above the fair market prices due to this anti-competitive scheme, impacting over 50,000 apartments in Washington DC.
• The case brings into focus the increasing scrutiny of RealPage's YieldStar, which discourages direct bargaining with renters and may recommend lower occupancy rates instead of lower rents. The software has been subject to prior allegations of artificially inflating prices.
• The lawsuit calls for significant relief measures such as triple damages, imposing a corporate monitor, and financial penalties for the district and residents whose rents were allegedly unlawfully heightened.