U.S. landlords who use RealPage products to set prices on rental apartments are facing accusations of collusion.
  • A group of lawsuits accuse large landlords of price-fixing the market rate of rent in the United States
  • A complaint filed by Washington D.C.’s Attorney General alleges 14 landlords in the district are sharing competitively sensitive data through RealPage, a real estate software provider
  • RealPage recommends prices for roughly 4.5 million housing units in the United States
  • RealPage told CNBC that its landlord customers are under no obligation to take their price suggestions

A group of renters in the U.S. say their landlords are using software to deliver inflated rent hikes.

“We’ve been told as tenants by employees of Equity that the software takes empathy out of the equation. So they can charge whatever the software tells them to charge,” said Kevin Weller, a tenant at Portside Towers since 2021.

Tenants say the management started to increase prices substantially after giving renters concessions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    • mipadaitu@lemmy.worldEnglish
      81·
      10 months ago

      Co-ops, or other not for profit rental models. Doesn’t have to be a for profit corporation just to manage the building.

    • Shalakushka@kbin.social
      56·
      10 months ago

      “Gosh, I would love to pay the same amount or more to build no equity and have some shit bag landlord paint the walls white and claim he made repairs” said practically no one. Even if they did, there isn’t a reason to maintain an insane system for the benefit of very few.

      • yo_scottie_ohEnglish
        42·
        10 months ago

        Nah—I’d just assume let everyone choose for themselves whether renting or owning is right for them.

      • Obi@sopuli.xyz
        1·
        10 months ago

        I’ve known so many people that think buying would tie them down too much.