Greystar Strikes Deal With DOJ, Will Cooperate In RealPage Antitrust Case

Greystar has reached a deal with the federal government to end its prosecution over alleged anticompetitive rent-setting practices facilitated by real estate software giant RealPage. 

Under the consent decree, subject to final court approval, Greystar will refrain from using any rent pricing software that uses competitor or nonpublic data and will more generally cease sharing and comparing any rental data with competitors. 

If approved by a federal judge in North Carolina, Greystar would have 180 days, or until April 1, 2026 — whichever is sooner — to comply.

Greystar, which manages more than 900,000 apartments across the country, also agreed not to attend any events or meetings hosted by RealPage and to cooperate with the Department of Justice in its monopoly and antitrust investigation into the software company and its clients. 

Greystar said in a statement that it believes its use of RealPage’s revenue management software and rent-setting tools complied with applicable laws and stressed that its decision to settle contains no admission of wrongdoing.

“The industry continues to face litigation and unclear regulatory guidance around the use of revenue management tools,” the statement said. “We entered into these settlements to make clear the government's interpretation of the law and to ensure we continue to do things the right way.”

Greystar also reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by a group of renters who sued over the alleged rent-fixing enabled by RealPage. The terms were not disclosed.

The landlord can continue to use RealPage’s property management software but will refrain from using any rent-setting software that uses nonpublic data as part of its algorithm. 

If Greystar opts to use a third-party pricing algorithm that hasn't previously been approved as part of the agreement, it will be subject to a third-party monitor that will report to the court on the pricing algorithm's output.

Officials in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department framed the consent decree, which is borne from an investigation and lawsuit that began in the previous administration, as a victory for renters and capitalism.

“American greatness has always depended on free-market competition, and nowhere is competition more important than in making housing affordable again,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We will continue to vigorously pursue President Trump’s pro-consumer agenda.”

RealPage declined a request for comment.

Texas-based RealPage, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, was first targeted in a federal antitrust suit last August that eventually broadened to include landlords managing some 1.3 million apartments across 43 states. 

Some of the country’s largest multifamily owners and managers, including Blackstone’s LivCor asset management firm, Camden Property Trust and Cushman & Wakefield, were later added to the suit.

Cortland reached a consent decree with the federal government that was disclosed when the Department of Justice added the other developers. 

Government filings in the case, which is being heard by Judge William Lindsay Osteen in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, allege antitrust violations dating as far back as 2018. 

A report from former-President Joe Biden’s White House Council of Economic Advisers found that rent-setting algorithms cost tenants roughly $3.8B in additional rent in 2023. 

RealPage has fought and denied the allegations from the start, describing the government’s allegations as false and misleading last June. It has denied that it facilitates the sharing of proprietary information between competitors or that it helps those landlords coordinate rents, the core of the government’s claims against the company. 

The cost of housing is a major pressure point for consumers and politicians, and RealPage’s tool — which had been called YieldStar but was renamed to AI Revenue Management — has been targeted by legislation in at least six states. 

Connecticut became the first state to ban rent-setting tools that rely on nonpublic data earlier this year, and 22 states have introduced 40 pieces of legislation in 2025 targeting algorithmic rent-setting software, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.