Since at least 2016, nine real-estate companies that own apartment complexes in Lexington, Louisville and elsewhere in Kentucky illegally conspired with a software firm to share private financial data and keep their rents artificially high, according to a lawsuit filed by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office.
RealPage Inc., headquartered outside Dallas, Texas, collects a vast trove of local housing market data from landlords, such as rents, occupancy rates, lease expiration dates, square footage and amenities offered to tenants; combines it; and feeds all of that into an algorithm, according to the suit, filed July 2 in U.S. District Court in Covington.
Using the algorithm, RealPage sells its clients pricing “recommendations” that result in steady rent hikes and an end to tenant-friendly amenities, such as waived fees or a free month’s rent, according to the suit. By its own estimate, RealPage controls at least 80% of this product market, according to the suit…