RICHARDSON, TEXAS — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has closed its criminal investigation into the pricing practices of the rental housing industry, according to RealPage, citing a DOJ notice. In a statement released Dec. 6, the company also reaffirmed its stance that its software platform did not violate antitrust laws.
RealPage stated that it cooperated extensively with the DOJ throughout the now-closed investigation, adding that the DOJ did not identify RealPage as a target of the investigation at any point.
While the criminal investigation has ended, it remains unclear whether the DOJ will continue to pursue civil litigation against the company. The DOJ — along with eight states — sued RealPage in August, alleging in a press release that the software provider had engaged in an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords… and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments.”
RealPage denied the DOJ’s allegations and has continuously defended its practices, including proprietary data sharing among subscribers to suggest rental rates and terms, which the DOJ previously argued was a form of price fixing.
“As we have explained, RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, enhances competition throughout the rental housing ecosystem and is highly configurable by our customers,” the company explained in its statement. “RealPage revenue management customers always have total discretion to accept or reject pricing recommendations — and customers regularly exercise that discretion in practice.”
On Dec. 3, RealPage filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the government had failed to prove that its software had any anticompetitive impact.
“We remain unwavering in our belief that RealPage’s revenue management software benefits both housing providers and residents and that the remaining lawsuits are based on misinformation and baseless allegations,” the most recent statement concluded.
RealPage is a real estate software company headquartered in Richardson, approximately 15 miles north of Dallas. Founded in 1998, RealPage provides property management software for roughly 24 million rental units across North America, Europe and Asia.