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Attorney General Brian Schwalb Has Started An Antitrust Investigation of a Company Helping Landlords Set Rent Prices

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Attorney General Brian Schwalb has begun investigating a company that helps big landlords set rent prices for potential violations of antitrust law, according to a source familiar with the probe, and he could soon hire a private law firm to help build a case. 

Schwalb’s office sent a proposed contract with the firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC to the D.C. Council for approval late last month, specifying in a memo to lawmakers that it hoped to work with the attorneys on the “investigation of and potential litigation against identified targets in the housing industry for violations of antitrust laws.” The name of those potential targets is redacted in versions of the contract shared publicly ahead of the Council’s planned vote on the deal Tuesday.

However, the source familiar with the investigation tells Loose Lips that Schwalb is scrutinizing RealPage, a Texas-based company that works with major commercial property managers across the country. The firm primarily sells access to its “YieldStar” software, which recommends rent prices for apartments by using a proprietary algorithm to calculate what the market will bear. That algorithm is based on pricing data from its own clients, prompting some experts to speculate that the company effectively provides a way for big landlords to collude and fix prices.

RealPage is currently facing more than a dozen lawsuits from renters accusing it of antitrust violations alongside many of its clients. The Department of Justice has also opened an antitrust investigation into the firm. State attorneys general have yet to challenge the company in court, meaning Schwalb could be among the first to do so. (The proposed contract with Cohen Milstein also suggests the possibility that a future lawsuit could involve multiple states teaming up against the company—a common practice in such consumer protection and antitrust cases.)

A spokesperson for Schwalb declined to comment on the matter, while spokespeople for Cohen Milstein and RealPage did not immediately respond to requests for comment. RealPage, however, has repeatedly denied any allegations of price fixing or antitrust violations in previous statements and legal filings.



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