Greystar, the largest apartment landlord and manager in the United States, reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in August 2025 to end allegations that it used RealPage’s pricing software to coordinate rents with competitors. The Greystar DOJ rent algorithm settlement carries no federal fine and no admission of wrongdoing, but it bars Greystar from using pricing algorithms fed by competitors’ confidential data, from sharing sensitive rental information with rival landlords, and from attending RealPage-hosted meetings where competing landlords discuss pricing. A separate $7 million agreement with nine state attorneys general followed in November 2025, and a much larger private class action brought by renters is still working its way through federal court.
What Greystar Agreed to Do
The consent decree, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on August 8, 2025, would impose five main obligations on Greystar if the court approves it.1U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Reaches Proposed Settlement With Greystar, Largest US Landlord, To End Its Algorithmic Coordination
Greystar must stop using any pricing algorithm that generates rent recommendations based on competitors’ competitively sensitive data or that contains anticompetitive features. It cannot share competitively sensitive information with competing landlords. It must stop attending or participating in RealPage-hosted meetings where competing landlords gather. If it uses a third-party pricing algorithm that has not been certified under the decree’s terms, it must accept oversight from a court-appointed monitor. And it must cooperate with the government’s ongoing monopolization case against RealPage itself.
The proposed decree contains no monetary penalty from the DOJ. It is subject to the Tunney Act, which requires a 60-day public comment period before a federal judge can enter it as a final judgment. That comment period has closed. The DOJ received five comments from three individuals, one of whom argued Greystar should be forced to divest most of its U.S. properties and pay restitution, and another who asked for tighter safeguards including a ban on manually inputting competitor pricing data. The DOJ filed its response on February 4, 2026, and said it would ask the court to enter the final judgment. While the court decides, Greystar is bound by a stipulation to follow the decree’s terms as if it were already in force.2GovInfo. United States v. RealPage, Inc. et al. — Response to Public Comments
What the DOJ Said Greystar Did
The DOJ opened its investigation into RealPage in November 2022 and filed a civil antitrust suit against the company in August 2024, alleging violations of both Section 1 of the Sherman Act (anticompetitive agreements) and Section 2 (monopolization).3GovInfo. United States of America et al. v. RealPage, Inc. et al. Proposed Final Judgment and Competitive Impact Statement On January 8, 2025, it filed an amended complaint adding six of the country’s largest landlords as defendants. Greystar was the most prominent name on the list, alongside LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield (including its Pinnacle subsidiary), Willow Bridge Property Company, and Cortland Management.4Multifamily Dive. DOJ Sues Six Major Landlords in RealPage Antitrust Case
According to the DOJ, Greystar did more than subscribe to a software product. The government alleged that Greystar shared competitively sensitive data that fed RealPage’s algorithms, participated in RealPage-hosted meetings where competing landlords discussed pricing strategies and rents, and helped select the parameters for the software’s pricing recommendations. In the government’s view, that combination amounted to algorithmic coordination that aligned competitors’ prices to renters’ detriment.1U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Reaches Proposed Settlement With Greystar, Largest US Landlord, To End Its Algorithmic Coordination
Greystar’s scale makes the allegations consequential. As of 2025, the company managed more than 946,000 apartment units, owned more than 122,000, and operated in over 260 markets worldwide. It topped the National Multifamily Housing Council’s annual list of apartment owners and managers.5NAAHQ. Greystar Tops NMHC 50 List of Owners and Managers
No Federal Fine, But a $7 Million State Deal
The DOJ settlement takes no money from Greystar. The money came from a separate track. On November 18, 2025, a bipartisan coalition of nine state attorneys general announced a $7 million settlement with the company. The states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, and Tennessee. The full amount is paid to California, which then distributes it. Massachusetts disclosed that its share would be roughly $622,000.6California Attorney General. Attorney General Bonta Announces $7 Million Settlement With Greystar7Massachusetts Attorney General. AG Campbell Reaches $7 Million Multistate Settlement With Nation’s Largest Landlord
The state settlement adds restrictions the federal decree does not spell out. Greystar cannot license or use revenue management products that rely on external nonpublic data (other than data belonging to the specific property owner) to generate rental prices. It cannot use systems that set rental price floors or limit how far a recommended price can drop. It must name an antitrust compliance officer to the participating states within 30 days of the consent judgment’s entry, and must cooperate with the states’ continuing claims against RealPage.8Multifamily Dive. Greystar to Pay $7M to States to End Rent Collusion Action
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said, “Whether it’s through smoke-filled backroom deals or through an algorithm on your computer screen, colluding to drive up prices is illegal.” Bonta noted that Greystar managed about 333 multifamily rental properties in California that used RealPage software.6California Attorney General. Attorney General Bonta Announces $7 Million Settlement With Greystar Greystar denied wrongdoing and admitted no liability as part of the state settlement.9Legal Newsline. Greystar to Pay $7M to CA, Other States to End Rent Collusion Action
The $7 million goes to the states, not directly to renters.
Money for Renters: The Private Class Action
Renters looking at whether any of this reaches them should focus on a separate case. A federal antitrust class action, In re RealPage Inc. Rental Software Antitrust Litigation (II), is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee before Judge Crenshaw. It names RealPage and 49 property management companies as defendants, including Greystar. The court denied a motion to dismiss in December 2023, allowing the case to go forward.10Hausfeld LLP. RealPage Federal Antitrust Class Action
On November 21, 2025, the court granted preliminary approval to 26 settlements involving 27 defendants, totaling $141.8 million in monetary relief plus injunctive relief and cooperation commitments. The class covers anyone in the United States who paid rent directly to a participating landlord while that landlord used RealPage’s revenue management or lease renewal staggering programs, with the broadest class period running from October 18, 2018, through November 21, 2025. As of mid-2026, the claims process has not opened and final approval is still pending.10Hausfeld LLP. RealPage Federal Antitrust Class Action11RealPage Rental Settlement. RealPage Rental Software Antitrust Settlement
Renters who think they may qualify should watch the official settlement site for the opening of the claims window rather than assume the DOJ deal will send them a check. It will not.
Greystar’s Response
Greystar said the settlements were meant to “make clear the government’s interpretation of the law and to ensure we continue to do things the right way.” The company called the agreements “a significant step in putting these litigations behind us and moving the industry forward,” pointed to what it described as “unclear regulatory guidance around the use of revenue management tools,” and said the deals let it “remain focused on delivering best-in-class service to our clients and residents.”12Greystar. Greystar Reaches Agreement With US Department of Justice and Private Class Action Plaintiffs
What Happens Next
The DOJ’s proposed consent decrees with Greystar, Cortland, LivCor, and RealPage all await final approval from the judge in the Middle District of North Carolina. Cortland was the first landlord defendant to settle, agreeing in January 2025 to cooperate with the DOJ, adopt a government-approved antitrust compliance policy, and stop using revenue management products that rely on nonpublic competitor data. LivCor, a Blackstone portfolio company, settled on similar terms in December 2025.4Multifamily Dive. DOJ Sues Six Major Landlords in RealPage Antitrust Case13U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Reaches Proposed Consent Decree With LivCor
RealPage itself agreed to a proposed settlement on November 24, 2025. Under it, RealPage must stop using nonpublic, competitively sensitive competitor data when generating rent recommendations. Training data must be at least 12 months old and not tied to any active lease. Pricing models cannot analyze data at a geographic level narrower than statewide. The company must remove or redesign features that limited price decreases or aligned pricing among competing users, stop conducting market surveys that gather nonpublic data, and accept a court-appointed monitor. The settlement includes no financial penalty and no admission of wrongdoing. RealPage has defended its technology as “pro-competitive.”14U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Requires RealPage To End Sharing Competitively Sensitive Information15ProPublica. Greystar, Nation’s Largest Landlord, Settles DOJ Price-Fixing Claims
Three landlord defendants have not settled and remain in the case: Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield (including Pinnacle), and Willow Bridge Property Company. Camden has said it disagrees with the allegations and intends to seek dismissal. Cushman & Wakefield has argued that Pinnacle is solely a property manager and does not own properties or set pricing strategies. Willow Bridge has not made a public statement. No trial date has been set. The DOJ’s criminal investigation into the multifamily rental industry’s pricing practices has ended without charges.4Multifamily Dive. DOJ Sues Six Major Landlords in RealPage Antitrust Case16CourtListener. United States of America v. RealPage, Inc.