DOJ proposes settlement with Greystar over alleged rent price fixing scheme

WASHINGTON (WRIC) -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed a settlement with the landlord company, Greystar -- with 12 listed locations in the Richmond area -- following claims of algorithmic pricing and anticompetitive practices.

According to a release from the DOJ, Greystar is the largest landlord in the United States with almost 950,000 rental units across the country.

Earlier this year, Greystar -- along with five other major landlords -- was accused of coordinating with one another to keep rent prices high. The DOJ claims that the accused shared competitively sensitive data to generate pricing recommendations using RealPage's algorithms -- which aligned competitors' pricing in an anticompetitive manner.

Greystar and the other landlords also discussed competitively sensitive topics directly with one another -- including pricing strategies, rents and exploits in RealPage's software -- according to the DOJ.

“The Trump-Vance Administration is committed to promoting competition to help working class Americans pay for life’s necessities — including rent,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Whether in a smoke-filled room or through an algorithm, competitors cannot share competitively sensitive information or align prices to the detriment of American consumers.”

The proposed settlement filed by the DOJ last week would require Greystar to:

• Refrain from using any anticompetitive algorithm that generates pricing recommendations based on data from competitors
• Refrain from sharing competitively sensitive information with competitors
• Accept a court-appointed monitor when using certain third-party pricing algorithms
• Refrain from attending or participating in RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords
• Cooperate with the United States' monopolization claims against RealPage