Greystar Management Services LLC has reached a $7 million settlement with nine states that sued the property management company for allegedly inflating housing costs by using rent-setting algorithms from software companies including RealPage.
As part of the settlement, Greystar agreed to stop using software that enables companies to share competitively sensitive information to align rent prices. Greystar also agreed to cooperate in ongoing prosecution of RealPage and other defendant landlords.
This is Greystar’s third settlement in cases involving the use of RealPage. It agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit last month and reached a nonmonetary deal with the US Department of Justice in August.
“Whether it’s through smoke-filled backroom deals or through an algorithm on your computer screen, colluding to drive up prices is illegal,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a press statement. “Families across the country are staring down an affordability crisis. Companies that intentionally fuel this unaffordability by raising prices to line their own pockets can be sure I will use the full force of my office to hold them accountable.”
Along with California, the other states in the settlement are Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee.
