More than 25,000 North Carolina residents could soon see relief from rising rents after Attorney General Jeff Jackson reached a $7 million settlement with the state’s largest landlord.
The deal forces South Carolina-based Greystar Management LLC to abandon its use of AI-driven pricing software that regulators say has fueled widespread rent increases.
It’s the second settlement in recent months, part of an ongoing lawsuit against Texas-based RealPage and a handful of major landlords accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) software to “circumvent” market competition and illegally set rents.
“Companies cannot use new technology, like AI, to break the law and hurt customers,” Jackson said in a news release.
“If they try, we will take them to court.”
In January, the state sued the software company and six landlords, including Greystar, accusing them of illegally colluding and using RealPage’s AI software to drive up rents on about a third of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Charlotte.
The state lawsuit argued that RealPage’s algorithm allowed landlords to share non-public, sensitive data, such as occupancy rates, rent levels and discount strategies, to align prices across markets.
This practice, they argued, amounted to price fixing, which is traditionally illegal under antitrust law.
In addition to Greystar, the lawsuit also includes Cortland, Blackstone’s LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle Property Management Services and Willow Bridge Property.
Together, these landlords own or manage more than 70,000 units across the state.
The case expanded on an earlier antitrust lawsuit filed with the federal government and seven other states in August 2024, accusing RealPage of an “unlawful information sharing scheme.”
In April, the state settled with Atlanta-based private equity firm Cortland, which manages more than 5,000 units in dozens of apartment communities across the state.
The latest ruling is expected to have an even greater impact.
Greystar is the largest property management company in the world and in the greater Triangle region. It oversees 104 residential communities – from Chapel Hill to Wendell. Among them: the Dillon Apartments in downtown Raleigh, Liberty Warehouse in downtown Durham and Republic Flats in Research Triangle Park.
Under the deal, Greystar has agreed to stop:
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Using non-public data from other landlords, either through RealPage software or otherwise, to determine rental prices.
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The use of third-party software or algorithms to determine the price of apartments, unless they do so under the supervision of a court-appointed supervisor.
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Sharing or using competitively sensitive data from other landlords and property managers to set rental prices or generate recommended rental prices.
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Attending or participating in RealPage-hosted competitive landlord meetings.
Greystar will report to the Attorney General’s Office, which will participate in inspections to “ensure compliance and, if necessary, may enforce the terms of the agreement in court or extend the term of the agreement.”
Garrett Derderian, Greystar’s chief external communications officer, said Friday that the company is making progress.
“We are pleased that this matter has been resolved and remain focused on serving our residents and customers,” he said in an email.
Jackson’s bipartisan case against the other four landlords and RealPage continues.
North Carolina has approximately 1.4 million renters and the gap between wages and housing costs is widening.
The fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home in 2024 was $1,646. A minimum wage worker would have to work 4.4 full-time jobs to pay that rent, according to Out Of Reach, a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
