🏠💰 Multifamily Landlords Under Fire: DOJ’s Crackdown Explained! 🚔🔥

🚨 DOJ vs. RealPage: Is This The Biggest CRE Antitrust Battle? 🏢⚖️

Commercial Real Estate
February 10, 2025•2 min read

🚨 DOJ vs. RealPage: Is This The Biggest CRE Antitrust Battle? 🏢⚖️

🏠💰 Multifamily Landlords Under Fire: DOJ’s Crackdown Explained! 🚔🔥

If you’re in commercial real estate, you know that market data is everything—but now, the DOJ is cracking down on how landlords share information. In a shocking legal twist, federal prosecutors are going after major multifamily landlords and RealPage, the controversial rent-setting software company, for alleged collusion in rental pricing.

What’s Happening?

The DOJ recently expanded its antitrust lawsuit, adding some of the biggest names in CRE, including:

  • Greystar

  • Blackstone’s LivCor

  • Camden Property Trust

  • Cushman & Wakefield

  • Willow Bridge Property Co.

  • Cortland Management

The accusation? That these firms allegedly coordinated rent prices, using RealPage’s algorithm to keep rates artificially high and reduce competition.

Why Is This a Big Deal?

For decades, landlords have shared comparables (comps) to assess rental rates—just like in any other business. But the DOJ is now questioning whether this industry-wide practice violates antitrust laws.

Multifamily executives are baffled by the lawsuit, arguing that gathering market data isn’t collusion—it’s just smart business.

💬 “If you were making a big financial decision, wouldn’t you call around and ask questions?”
—Eli Weiss, Joy Construction

Landlords Are on Edge

Even property owners who don’t use RealPage are now lawyering up, wondering if their standard practices could suddenly be considered illegal.

đź’Ľ Jeff Klotz, CEO of The Klotz Group, says he had to call his legal team immediately after the lawsuit expanded:
“When the Justice Department started naming landlords, that’s when it got real.”

The Numbers Tell a Different Story

Critics of the lawsuit argue that the DOJ is missing the real issue—that supply shortages and rising costs are the true drivers of rent hikes, not an algorithm.

In fact, some landlords claim RealPage often pushes prices down, not up. 📉
🏙️ Example: In Houston, RealPage recommended lower rents almost daily due to market shifts.

What Happens Next?

With a new administration taking over, the fate of this lawsuit is uncertain. Trump’s DOJ nominee, Pam Bondi, has yet to comment, but CRE professionals expect a business-friendly approach.

Could this blockbuster case reshape how landlords operate—or will it quietly disappear in a few months?

One thing’s for sure: the real estate industry is watching closely. 👀🏢

🔗 What do you think? Is this lawsuit justified, or is it government overreach? Drop your thoughts in the comments! 💬👇 #RealEstateNews #DOJ #CRE #Multifamily #RealPage #HousingMarket

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© 2023-2024 Bill Rapp, Broker Associate, eXp Commercial Viking Enterprise Team

Real Page LawsuitRealPage rent-setting algorithmDOJ Anti Trust Casecommercial real estate lawsuitmultifamily landlordsrent price collusion
I am a Houston commercial broker, with residential experience, as well as a lending background. I have been in the real estate industry for 14 years and counting, and I have worked in many roles within the industry and each has given me a unique perspective of the industry as a whole. My dedication to clients is rooted in this industry knowledge, but also includes my desire to go the extra mile in networking to source off market opportunities for my clients. Me and my team at eXp Commercial have a cutting-edge technology package that gets the widest exposure for each transaction. eXp Commercial offers a nationwide network through which we can deliver the best exposure and professional advice to achieve our clients’ goals while also minimizing their risk. Clients appreciate my methodical method of discovery in our initial consultation. Through which we can get to know each other and their specific’s business’s needs and objectives on a granular level. Our processes help navigate each transaction and its potential pitfalls through to a successful outcome for our clients. It is my stated goal to provide our clients with extensive market analysis and expertise that fosters innovative solutions and rewarding commercial real estate opportunities.

Bill Rapp, CRE Broker

I am a Houston commercial broker, with residential experience, as well as a lending background. I have been in the real estate industry for 14 years and counting, and I have worked in many roles within the industry and each has given me a unique perspective of the industry as a whole. My dedication to clients is rooted in this industry knowledge, but also includes my desire to go the extra mile in networking to source off market opportunities for my clients. Me and my team at eXp Commercial have a cutting-edge technology package that gets the widest exposure for each transaction. eXp Commercial offers a nationwide network through which we can deliver the best exposure and professional advice to achieve our clients’ goals while also minimizing their risk. Clients appreciate my methodical method of discovery in our initial consultation. Through which we can get to know each other and their specific’s business’s needs and objectives on a granular level. Our processes help navigate each transaction and its potential pitfalls through to a successful outcome for our clients. It is my stated goal to provide our clients with extensive market analysis and expertise that fosters innovative solutions and rewarding commercial real estate opportunities.

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