Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced a proposed $7 million multistate settlement with Greystar Management Services LLC, the largest landlord in the United States. The settlement addresses claims that Greystar participated in anticompetitive practices related to rent pricing. This action is part of an ongoing enforcement effort by a coalition of nine attorneys general against algorithmic coordination and other practices affecting rental markets nationwide.
“Every American deserves access to affordable housing. Yet housing continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing families around the country,” Raoul said. “I am committed to making sure that entities are held accountable when they stack the deck against Illinoisans by breaking long-standing antitrust laws. My office will continue to join with other attorneys general to uphold the law and protect competition in the marketplace.”
The settlement follows a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by Raoul and other attorneys general against RealPage Inc. and several large landlords, including Greystar. The complaint alleges that these companies shared sensitive data to create pricing recommendations using RealPage’s algorithms, which reduced competition among landlords for apartment pricing. It also claims that Greystar and others discussed topics such as rents and pricing strategies directly with each other while managing nearly 950,000 rental units across the country.
Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, if approved by a court, Greystar would pay $7 million to participating states and agree to several conditions: it must not use any anticompetitive algorithm for pricing recommendations involving competitors’ sensitive data or certain features deemed anticompetitive; it cannot share competitively sensitive information with its competitors; it must accept oversight from a court-appointed monitor if using third-party algorithms not certified under the decree; it cannot participate in meetings hosted by RealPage involving competing landlords; and it must cooperate with further claims against RealPage.
Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee joined Attorney General Raoul in announcing this settlement.
