RealPage Settles With Justice Department In Software Steering Suit

RealPage, a provider of commercial revenue management software and services for the conventional multifamily rental housing industry, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), subject to court approval, that resolves the DOJ’s legal action regarding the company’s revenue management software.

As alleged in Plaintiffs’ complaint, RealPage’s revenue management software has relied on nonpublic, competitively sensitive information shared by landlords to set rental prices. RealPage’s software has also included features designed to limit rental price decreases and otherwise align pricing among competitors. In addition, RealPage has hosted meetings attended by competing property management companies where competitively sensitive information was shared.

“Competing companies must make independent pricing decisions, and with the rise of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools, we will remain at the forefront of vigorous antitrust enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

RealPage has worked collaboratively with the DOJ throughout this process, engaging to reach an outcome that strengthens confidence across the industry. The settlement also provides greater certainty for housing providers and technology innovators that revenue management software can be operated confidently and in compliance with the views of federal antitrust enforcers.

“This resolution marks an important milestone for RealPage, our customers, and the multifamily industry,” said Dirk Wakeham, RealPage president and CEO. “Through it all, our teams remained focused on serving customers and advancing the technology the industry relies on every day. We are convinced that RealPage is part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing, helping operators make informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market. We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOJ, which brings the clarity and stability we have long sought and allows us to move forward with a continued focus on innovation and the shared goal of better outcomes for both housing providers and renters.”

If approved by the court, the proposed consent judgment would require RealPage to:

• Cease having its software use competitors’ nonpublic, competitively sensitive information to determine rental prices in runtime operation.
• Cease using active lease data for purposes of training the models underlying the software, limiting model training to historic or backward-looking nonpublic data that has been aged for at least 12 months.
• Not use models that determine geographic effects narrower than at a state level, which is broader than the markets alleged in the complaint.
• Remove or redesign features that limited price decreases or aligned pricing between competing users of the software.
• Cease conducting market surveys to collect competitively sensitive information.
• Refrain from discussing market analyses or trends based on nonpublic data, or pricing strategies, in RealPage meetings relating to revenue management software.
• Accept a court-appointed monitor to ensure compliance with the terms of the consent judgment.
• Cooperate in the United States’ lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software.

“This resolution with the DOJ was necessary to provide certainty and finality for RealPage and its customers to avoid protracted litigation,” said Stephen Weissman, Gibson Dunn partner and former deputy director for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). “While we deny any wrongdoing, we appreciate the constructive engagement by the DOJ and its willingness to bless the legality of RealPage’s prior and planned product changes under federal antitrust law through the consent decree.”

RealPage remains focused on advancing AI and data-driven innovation that supports fair, transparent leasing for residents, smarter living environments, and sustainable communities. The company will continue to partner with policymakers, customers, and industry leaders to help shape a balanced housing policy that protects residents, expands housing supply, and encourages responsible innovation to improve affordability.

“This is about moving forward with clarity, with confidence, and with a continued focus on building the future of housing technology,” Wakeham said. “Our mission remains the same: to lead responsibly, innovate boldly, and help shape a stronger, more efficient rental housing market that benefits both renters and housing providers.”

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. 

“There has been a great deal of misinformation about how RealPage’s software works and the value it provides for both housing providers and renters,” Weissman added. “We believe that RealPage’s historical use of aggregated and anonymized nonpublic data, which include rents that are typically lower than advertised rents, has led to lower rents, less vacancies, and more procompetitive effects.”