RealPage, the Richardson, Texas-based real estate software company, has reached a settlement with the State of Nevada over allegations that its rent-setting platform artificially inflated housing costs. The settlement resolves claims that RealPage’s use of nonpublic data from clients gave its rent recommendation software an unfair competitive edge, ultimately harming tenants.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said the company’s methods cut into competition in the rental market. “The nonpublic information RealPage gathered resulted in rent recommendations that cut into competition and harmed Nevada tenants,” Ford said in a Sept. 19 release.
RealPage, however, continues to deny the allegations. The firm said it chose to settle not because of any admission of liability, but to avoid protracted legal expenses and distractions. “We are gratified we found a path forward with the State of Nevada,” RealPage CEO and President Dana Jones said in the statement.
Under the agreement, RealPage will not admit wrongdoing but must adopt stricter rules on how its revenue management software is used in Nevada. Among the key requirements:
RealPage may only use nonpublic information from unaffiliated properties if the data is at least three months old, anonymized, and aggregated across at least 10 properties.
Nonpublic rent, occupancy, or availability data can be shared with customers only if anonymized and aggregated to at least 10 properties.
Models may only be trained on Nevada property data if it is aged by three months or more.
RealPage must maintain an antitrust compliance program and provide training to its revenue management teams.
The company will contribute $200,000 to Nevada for rental assistance programs for low-income residents.
The Nevada case is just one of many legal challenges facing RealPage. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company, later expanding the case to include six major landlords such as Greystar, accusing them of “participating in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.”
RealPage has consistently rejected those claims, attributing rent increases to larger market forces, particularly disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also emphasized that it had already adjusted its software in response to ongoing legislative concerns.
“In response to legislative activity, RealPage previously modified its revenue management software to remove nonpublic data of unaffiliated properties from the calculation of rent recommendations for all customers’ properties,” the company said in its Sept. 19 release.
The Nevada settlement, while relatively small in financial penalties, highlights growing national scrutiny of how technology and data aggregation influence housing affordability. With federal and state cases still in motion, RealPage and its landlord clients remain under intense observation from regulators, tenants, and housing advocates who argue that the algorithms have reshaped the rental market to the detriment of affordability.
Originally reported by Julie Strupp in Multi Family Dive.
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