Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed President Donald Trump's Justice Department, accusing it of siding with landlords over renters after the department settled an antitrust case with property-management software provider RealPage.
DOJ Allows Landlords To ‘Rip Off Renters’
On Tuesday, in a post on X, Warren said, “RealPage allegedly helped landlords price-fix and jack up the cost of rent,” referring to the platform’s algorithmic pricing tools that are used by large property managers and have since come under regulatory scrutiny.
Warren argued that “instead of cracking down” on such practices, “Trump's Justice Department” has opted for a deal that, she said, lets RealPage continue to “rip off renters.”
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She further noted that the company sees its settlement with the DOJ as “an endorsement” of its practices, asked whether this was Trump’s “Art of The Deal or a sham.”
RealPage Accused of ‘Classic Price Fixing’
In August last year, under the administration of President Joe Biden, the Department of Justice had initiated proceedings against RealPage, after eight state attorneys general accused the company of running “an unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords” using non-public data.
Filings cited internal communications which described the company’s strategy as “driving every possible opportunity to increase prices,” with one landlord reportedly calling the platform “classic price fixing.”
According to White House estimates, the platform resulted in tenants paying an additional $3.7 billion in rent during 2023, noting that it had exacerbated the housing crisis.
The DOJ had also sued 6 of the nation’s biggest landlords last year, including BlackRock Inc.’s (NYSE:BLK) LivCor LLC and Cushman & Wakefield PLC (NYSE:CWK), accusing them of sharing data on rents and occupancies in order to avoid lowering rents.
Earlier this year, Warren had argued that a section in Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which prohibits states from regulating AI for a period of 10 years, was primarily aimed at shielding companies like RealPage.
The Company Says Resolution Provides ‘Certainty’
On Monday, the DOJ announced a settlement with the company that involved no fines or admissions of wrongdoing, but requires RealPage to stop using competitors' nonpublic lease data in its pricing software and limit model training to older historical data.
Additionally, it prohibited certain features that promoted rent increases, while also requiring a court-appointed monitor on board to ensure compliance with the terms of this settlement.
RealPage has said that the settlement provides “resolution and certainty,” adding that the company “has worked collaboratively with the DOJ” and that its products “remain fully available, legally compliant, and aligned with evolving laws and policies.”
The DOJ and RealPage did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for a comment on this matter. This story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.
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