The US Justice Department and attorneys general from eight states have filed suit against a company that provides property management software for senior living and multi-family housing providers, for alleged anti-competitive pricing practices.
The company, RealPage Inc., told the McKnight’s Business Daily that it intends to “vigorously defend” itself against the allegations.
In a civil lawsuit filed Friday, the Justice Department alleges that Richardson, TX, RealPage engaged in an unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue software that landlords use to price apartments.
“We allege that RealPage’s pricing algorithm enables landlords to share confidential, competitively sensitive information and align their rents,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release. “Using software as the sharing mechanism does not immunize this scheme from Sherman Act liability, and the Justice Department will continue to aggressively enforce the antitrust laws and protect the American people from those who violate them.”
The attorneys general in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington also are plaintiffs to the Justice Department complaint.
The allegations in the complaint center around price-fixing in rental units. RealPage’s software for independent living, assisting living and memory care communities facilitates lead generation, prospect management, payment collection, resident screening, real-time reporting, care management, community management, census management and incident management, according to the company’s website.
RealPage representatives did not comment directly on whether any of the specific allegations in the complaint relate to the use of its senior living software. In a statement, however, the company strongly pushed back against the allegations of anti-competitive practices outlined in the DOJ complaint.
“RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a long history of working constructively with the DOJ to show that,” the RealPage statement said.
“We believe the claims brought by the DOJ are devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable,” the statement continued. “We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these accusations.”
