Tennessee joins other states and DOJ in lawsuit against software company for high rent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee has joined seven other states and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in a lawsuit against one software company for keeping rents high.

Here’s how the software company RealPage works, according to the suit:

• A number of landlords in a market give RealPage their private, sensitive rental data
• RealPage ‘s algorithm generates a rental price, taking the work out of the landlord’s hands
• RealPage aggregates the information into one place

The suit alleges that the software decreases competition among landlords, inflates prices, and creates a monopoly that benefits RealPage . News 2 spoke with Joel Sanders, founder and CEO of Apartment Insiders and a rental expert in Middle Tennessee, about RealPage’s impact.

“They [RealPage] are one of the main players in the industry,” Sanders said.

Sanders added that this lawsuit could change how artificial intelligence is used in the rental industry.

“There’s a lot of conversation around controlling AI and where the limits should be and how much the government should step in,” Sanders said. “This may be one of the pioneering actions around some of that. I think again, because it’s really sensitive because it has to do with housing and rental housing.”

Following the filing, the Attorney General’s office for the state of Tennessee released a statement.

“My office has been looking at RealPage since 2023 following concerns about the company’s efforts to keep rents artificially high in cities across Tennessee,” Tennessee Attorney General Anthony Skrmetti said in the statement.

Sanders told News 2 that rental prices will most likely continue to come down to supply and demand. However, depending on the outcome of this lawsuit, new guardrails could be established on how landlords compete.

“I genuinely think that rent prices won’t change much,” Sanders said. “What may change is the speed at which rent prices adapt to market conditions.”

News 2 reached out to RealPage for a comment, but as of publication, has not received a response. RealPage told the Associated Press that the Justice Department’s claims were “devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable.”

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