United States: Division of Justice Reaches Proposed Settlement with RealPage Pertaining to Algorithmic Pricing Instruments

In short

As a part of a broad effort by federal antitrust enforcers to confront the rising use of algorithmic coordination, the Antitrust Division of the USA Division of Justice (“DOJ”) has introduced a proposed settlement with RealPage Inc. (“RealPage”). The DOJ sued RealPage final yr alleging RealPage’s income administration software program used nonpublic, competitively delicate data shared by landlords to set rental costs in violation of Sections 1 and a pair of of the Sherman Act. The settlement, amongst different issues, limits the extent to which RealPage can use lively lease information to coach the predictive fashions underlying its software program.

• The DOJ and RealPage agreed to settle one of the crucial high-profile ongoing antitrust circumstances, signaling a continued enforcement concentrate on combatting algorithmic coordination and improper data sharing.
• The proposed settlement targets RealPage’s use of actual time nonpublic information by limiting the information RealPage is permitted to make use of to coach its software program fashions to historic information a minimum of 12 months outdated. The proposed settlement additional restricts the granularity with which RealPage can report rental pricing data with its subscribers by forbidding RealPage from offering information extra narrowly than at a state-wide degree.
• The proposed settlement, which incorporates no monetary penalties, or findings of wrongdoing, requires court docket approval.
• Corporations ought to be conscious of the fashions and information utilized in any algorithmic pricing instruments they make use of and will seek the advice of counsel to make sure compliance with antitrust legal guidelines.

On November 24, 2025, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division introduced a proposed settlement to resolve its claims towards RealPage Inc. This motion is a part of a broader federal enforcement effort to confront rising use of algorithmic instruments to have interaction in coordination, share competitively delicate data, and pursue different doubtlessly anticompetitive practices, together with within the rental housing business.

In accordance with allegations within the DOJ’s criticism, RealPage’s income administration software program used nonpublic, competitively delicate data shared by landlords to set rental costs. The Criticism alleged violations of Part 1 and a pair of of the Sherman Act by way of agreements to share and use competitively delicate data to align person landlords’ pricing processes, methods, and pricing responses through the software program. The DOJ alleged that this apply undermined impartial pricing choices amongst competing corporations and allowed for alignment of rental costs, harming each competitors and client alternative.

The proposed consent judgment particulars a number of corrective measures that RealPage should undertake if the settlement is authorized by the court docket.

Key Settlement Provisions

• Actual-time information: RealPage can’t use lively lease information to coach its algorithms–solely historic or backward-looking information aged a minimum of 12 months.
• Geographic fashions: RealPage’s pricing fashions could not analyze geographies narrower than a state degree.
• Characteristic redesign: RealPage could not make an identical pricing suggestions to completely different homeowners throughout the similar geographic market, and should modify its software program options to keep away from limiting worth decreases or aligning pricing amongst competing landlords.
• Market intelligence: RealPage should not conduct, or solicit nonpublic information by way of market surveys for functions of recommending pricing. Nor could they use, share, or disclose present, forward-looking information, nor the information collected by way of market surveys, for the usage of the software program.
• Data trade: RealPage should chorus from discussing or facilitating discussions on market analyses or tendencies primarily based on nonpublic information, or pricing methods, in conferences referring to the software program.
• Oversight: A court-appointed monitor will oversee RealPage’s compliance.
• No monetary penalties or admission of wrongdoing: No fines, or admissions of legal responsibility towards RealPage.

The phrases of the settlement can be efficient for seven years from its entry date, however the DOJ could finish it after 4 years if the DOJ not finds it crucial or within the public curiosity.

RealPage and its landlord shoppers have additionally confronted class motion litigation and separate lawsuits from attorneys basic from a number of states, together with Maryland, New Jersey, Kentucky, Washington, Arizona and the District of Columbia. A few of these actions even have settlements pending.

The RealPage settlement demonstrates that there are vital antitrust dangers in utilizing AI-based pricing instruments the place algorithms depend on rivals’ nonpublic, present information in ways in which could align pricing or impression impartial decision-making. Corporations that subscribe to or market such pricing fashions ought to guarantee they depend on solely backward-looking, aged information, keep away from the ingestion of rivals’ real-time pricing information, and get rid of any options that restrict or discourage worth decreases. Such pricing algorithms must also keep away from overly granular geographic modelling that might facilitate native coordination.

Corporations ought to seek the advice of with antitrust counsel previous to utilizing or advertising and marketing AI pricing instruments and with respect to data trade typically.