Attorneys general from Oregon and Washington are suing a software company that they claim helped landlords fix rent costs, joining other states and federal officials in the legal action.
The eight states that have teamed together to file a civil antitrust complaint against RealPage are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, and Washington, the Department of Justice said on Friday.
According to the DOJ, property managers provide the national corporation with “nonpublic, competitively sensitive information,” which it uses to calculate rental rates and other details. Authorities claimed that by doing this, landlords who would ordinarily compete with one another for new tenants by varying their rates, discounts, lease terms, etc., are less likely to do so.
The 1890 Sherman Act, which attempts to promote competition among business owners, is allegedly violated by RealPage’s actions, according to a statement made by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
“At a time when housing affordability is a top concern for Oregonians — and for countless Americans beyond our state’s borders — the issues of fairness and competition could not be more critical,” Rosenblum stated.
The lawsuit identifies specific geographic submarkets where tenants have been hampered or are expected to be hampered by the agreement between RealPage and landlords.
Rosenblum estimates that this covers roughly 54,000 units in the Central Portland and Aloha-West Beaverton regions. Attorney General Bob Ferguson claims that around 800,000 leases in Washington are included in it as well.
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According to court records, the submarkets most impacted are Redmond and Renton.
Ferguson, a candidate for governor of Washington, claimed in a statement that “RealPage colluded to fix prices and keep rents rising in order to boost profits. The cost of housing is putting a strain on too many working families. My legal team and I will stand up to this collusion and fight for affordable rents for Washingtonians.”
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