Court Sides with Attorney General Bonta in RealPage Case, Denies RealPage and Landlords’ Attempt to Evade Responsibility in Rent Pricing Lawsuit

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases · October 2, 2026 · g5378538

October 2, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a bipartisan coalition of nine states celebrated a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, ruling in favor of the coalition, refusing to let landlords out of the case, and denying software company RealPage’s attempt to have the ongoing rent-pricing algorithm case against the company thrown out. In 2024, Attorney General Bonta, the U.S. Department of Justice, and a coalition of states sued RealPage, alleging that the software company used landlords’ competitively sensitive data to create a pricing algorithm that violated antitrust laws. In 2025, the parties filed an amended complaint , adding some of the largest property management companies in the country as defendants — Camden, Pinnacle, LivCor, Willow Bridge and Greystar — alleging defendants maintained an unlawful pricing alignment scheme that artificially inflated rent prices and illegally maintained a minimum pricing floor against market trends, and that not only RealPage, but the landlords that profited from this scheme must be held accountable.  “Both RealPage and the large landlords that use it attempted to evade responsibility for conduct that has artificially inflated rent prices nationwide. This week, a court agreed with California and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general and ordered RealPage and its landlords to answer to the states’ complaint,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Our lawsuit against RealPage alleges it misused private and sensitive consumer data to take the competition out of the rental industry, leaving renters no other choice but to pay the inflated prices recommended to landlords. This means that even if rental home supply was high, rent prices stayed the same, and in some cases, rents went up. This conduct is unacceptable and illegal. My office looks forward to continuing our work to hold RealPage and landlords accountable and is committed to tackling anticompetitive conduct that is illegally increasing the cost of living for Californians.” RealPage uses algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers. It does so by amassing competitively sensitive data from competing landlords through its pricing algorithms and sharing this data among subscribers. Landlords understand that their nonpublic data will be used to recommend prices not just for their own units, but also for competitors who use the programs, and agree to provide this information because they understand they will benefit from the information of their rivals. In other words, RealPage knows what competing landlords are charging and can increase profits for landlords by using that information to recommend landlords set or raise their prices uniformly, thereby eliminating competition, and leaving renters no choice but to pay artificially high prices. Over the last four decades, housing needs have significantly outpaced housing production in California. Housing costs have skyrocketed, making it harder for Californians to keep a roof over their heads. California's 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their paychecks on rent, with an estimated 700,000 Californians at risk of eviction.     To date, Attorney General Bonta has settled with two of the landlords, requiring the companies to stop using non-public data from other landlords to set rents. Most recently, he joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in reaching a $7 million settlement with LivCor . Attorney General Bonta has also reached a settlement with Greystar . California’s lawsuits against Camden, Pinnacle, Willow Bridge, and RealPage are ongoing. The lawsuit against RealPage asks the court to stop the company and the property management companies it works with from sharing non-public information and working together to inflate rent prices.   Attorney General Bonta is joined in continuing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee.

October 2, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a bipartisan coalition of nine states celebrated a decision of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, ruling in favor of the coalition, refusing to let landlords out of the case, and denying software company RealPage’s attempt to have the ongoing rent-pricing algorithm case against the company thrown out. In 2024, Attorney General Bonta, the U.S. Department of Justice, and a coalition of states sued RealPage, alleging that the software company used landlords’ competitively sensitive data to create a pricing algorithm that violated antitrust laws. In 2025, the parties filed an amended complaint , adding some of the largest property management companies in the country as defendants — Camden, Pinnacle, LivCor, Willow Bridge and Greystar — alleging defendants maintained an unlawful pricing alignment scheme that artificially inflated rent prices and illegally maintained a minimum pricing floor against market trends, and that not only RealPage, but the landlords that profited from this scheme must be held accountable.  “Both RealPage and the large landlords that use it attempted to evade responsibility for conduct that has artificially inflated rent prices nationwide. This week, a court agreed with California and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general and ordered RealPage and its landlords to answer to the states’ complaint,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Our lawsuit against RealPage alleges it misused private and sensitive consumer data to take the competition out of the rental industry, leaving renters no other choice but to pay the inflated prices recommended to landlords. This means that even if rental home supply was high, rent prices stayed the same, and in some cases, rents went up. This conduct is unacceptable and illegal. My office looks forward to continuing our work to hold RealPage and landlords accountable and is committed to tackling anticompetitive conduct that is illegally increasing the cost of living for Californians.” RealPage uses algorithmic models to recommend price increases to subscribers. It does so by amassing competitively sensitive data from competing landlords through its pricing algorithms and sharing this data among subscribers. Landlords understand that their nonpublic data will be used to recommend prices not just for their own units, but also for competitors who use the programs, and agree to provide this information because they understand they will benefit from the information of their rivals. In other words, RealPage knows what competing landlords are charging and can increase profits for landlords by using that information to recommend landlords set or raise their prices uniformly, thereby eliminating competition, and leaving renters no choice but to pay artificially high prices. Over the last four decades, housing needs have significantly outpaced housing production in California. Housing costs have skyrocketed, making it harder for Californians to keep a roof over their heads. California's 17 million renters spend a significant portion of their paychecks on rent, with an estimated 700,000 Californians at risk of eviction.     To date, Attorney General Bonta has settled with two of the landlords, requiring the companies to stop using non-public data from other landlords to set rents. Most recently, he joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in reaching a $7 million settlement with LivCor . Attorney General Bonta has also reached a settlement with Greystar . California’s lawsuits against Camden, Pinnacle, Willow Bridge, and RealPage are ongoing. The lawsuit against RealPage asks the court to stop the company and the property management companies it works with from sharing non-public information and working together to inflate rent prices.   Attorney General Bonta is joined in continuing the lawsuit by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Источник: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases