NC Sues RealPage: Landlords Use AI Illegally to Raise Rent

By Ethan Harris ‘27

The new North Carolina Attorney General, Jeff Jackson, came into office swinging on January 1, 2025. One of his first actions was coordinating the expansion of an eleven-co-plaintiff lawsuit against RealPage Inc., a property management software company based in Richardson, Texas. RealPage offers landlords the opportunity to receive help managing their real estate through data analytics and management software. The State of North Carolina, along with nine other states and the United States Department of Justice, are suing RealPage for violating both federal and state antitrust laws. Antitrust laws ensure a free market, and they discourage noncompetitive practices. Consequently, antitrust laws result in lower prices and more options for consumers.

RealPage is accused of artificially creating and pushing high rent prices across the apartment market. RealPage encourages large landlords to share nonpublic data regarding renters’ lease terms, future occupancy plans, and executed lease rates. RealPage, having collected data from many different large landlords, compiles the data into an algorithm that gives a new rental price that is optimal for landlords’ profits. RealPage influences the market by encouraging a vast amount of apartment complexes to implement these fixed rates. Universal fixed rates turn a free market into a controlled market with no competition between landlords. As a result, families who struggle to make ends meet have no options regarding affordable rental properties. In the words of the original complaint, “RealPage replaced competition with coordination.”

RealPage’s trouble began in 2022, after the release of an article by ProPublica titled, “Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.” This article suggested that RealPage’s software could be responsible for what seemed like a constant rise in rent prices around the country. Tenants across the country began advocating for RealPage to be punished, and soon legislators agreed. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders called for the U.S. Department of Justice to hold RealPage accountable. After thirty class action lawsuits, laws that banned the use of RealPage in certain major cities, and pressure from all sides of the country, the multi-state and federal lawsuit was created.

Jeff Jackson and the State of North Carolina led the amended lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of N.C. North Carolina. North Carolina is the most affected state by the use of RealPage, evidenced by the alleged 70,000 units which RealPage created prices for. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that ten large markets around the United States were affected by RealPage, three of which are in North Carolina: Durham-Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia. Attorney General Jackson said RealPage has affected, “One-third of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in each of the three metro areas.” 

During his time as NC Attorney General, NC Governor Josh Stein filed the original lawsuit against RealPage back in August 2024. Joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and the U.S. DOJ, Josh Stein acted on the result of a year-long investigation in RealPage. When Jeff Jackson was sworn in as NC Attorney General, his goal was to further expand the work Josh Stein had accomplished. In January, the plaintiffs, along with the addition of Illinois and Massachusetts, amended the lawsuit. The amended lawsuit names RealPage as a defendant along with six new defendants, all of which are landlords. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle Property Management Services, Willow Bridge Property Company, and Cortland Management are the six major landlords named in the lawsuit. In a statement, NC Attorney General Jackson said, “I’m suing these landlords to make sure they play by the rules so North Carolinians can get fair prices for rent.”

This isn’t the only legal trouble RealPage is facing. They are currently defendants in two other lawsuits. Arizona sued RealPage and nine landlords in February 2024, and Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against RealPage and thirteen landlords in November 2024. RealPage has denied the allegations of violating antitrust laws. They advocate that their entire software is designed to follow the guidelines set out by both federal and state laws.

The 161-page complaint asked the court to do several things. First, it asked the court to adjudge that RealPage did indeed violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. Second, it asked the court to force RealPage to amend its operations to discontinue its illegal acts. Lastly, it asked that RealPage provide all relief to the affected tenants. We are currently waiting to hear an answer from the court.

Ethan Harris is a sophomore majoring in criminal justice, political science, and philosophy

Sources

Ahmed, N. (2024, August 23). Attorney General Josh Stein Sues RealPage for Illegally Raising Rents. North Carolina Department of Justice. https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-josh-stein-sues-realpage-for-illegally-raising-rents/

Justice Department Sues Six Large Landlords for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters. (2025, January 7). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved February 24, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-six-large-landlords-algorithmic-pricing-scheme-harms-millions 

Motley, T. (2025, January 20). N.C. Attorney General joins RealPage lawsuit, tackling rent inflation across the state. The Daily Tar Heel. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2025/01/city-state-realpage-landlords-raising-rent-illegally 

Bajpai, A. (2025, January 8). NC accuses 6 landlords of ‘illegally working together’ to raise rents in RealPage lawsuit. The News & Observer. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article298137358.html 

Fowers, A., Chen, S. Y., Rich, S., & Lerman R. (2025, January 8). Landlords are accused of colluding to raise rents. See where. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2025/realpage-lawsuit-rent-map/ 

Agbebiyi, L. (2025, January 30). DOJ updates case against Thoma Bravo’s RealPage to include six of largest landlords. Private Equity Stakeholder Project. https://pestakeholder.org/news/doj-updates-case-against-thoma-bravos-realpage-to-include-six-of-largest-landlords/ 

Vogell, H., (2022, October 15). Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent