Your Landlord’s Dirty Secret Weapon: AI Price-Fixing

Good news: your landlord isn’t just greedy. 

Bad news: they’ve got robots helping them collude to raise your rent illegally. 

According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), RealPage’s "AI Revenue Management" tool is allegedly responsible for landlords collectively squeezing an extra $3.8 billion annually out of renters.

Here’s how it works: the algorithm recommends rent prices that are higher than what landlords might independently charge, effectively letting them coordinate without ever needing to pick up the phone. Think of it as a price-fixing cartel, only with a sleek dashboard and a Terms of Service agreement.

Nearly 25% of multifamily rental properties nationwide use RealPage’s algorithm. In cities like Atlanta and Denver, adoption jumps to over 50%, and renters there are feeling the burn of up to $181 extra per month. Just for the privilege of having a roof over their heads.

The Department of Justice and North Carolina’s Attorney General have had enough. They’re suing RealPage and six landlords, including heavyweights like Greystar and Blackstone’s LivCor, alleging they’ve shared sensitive data on occupancy rates, renewal rates, and rent-setting strategies. If true, it’s a textbook violation of antitrust laws.

RealPage, of course, insists it’s merely offering “guidance” to landlords, but the CEA disagrees. Their report claims the algorithm essentially acts as a middleman, letting landlords avoid competing while maintaining plausible deniability.
So, if you’ve been wondering why rents keep rising faster than your paycheck, it’s not just your imagination. Your landlord may have a silent partner in your rent hikes: a bot with a talent for making you pay more