The Justice Department has taken a stand against real estate software company RealPage Inc. by filing an antitrust lawsuit, accusing the company of facilitating a scheme that enables landlords to coordinate and increase rental prices.

The lawsuit, which involves attorneys general from states such as North Carolina and California, alleges that RealPage has violated antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords utilize to determine recommended rental prices for apartments.

According to Justice Department officials, this algorithm allows landlords to align their prices and evade competition that would typically keep rents at a more reasonable level. One RealPage executive was quoted in the complaint as saying that “there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law.”

Separately, attorneys general from various states have sued RealPage over alleged illegal price-fixing related to its algorithmic pricing software.

In response to these allegations, RealPage posted a statement on its website in June, dismissing the claims as “false and misleading.” The company argued that its software actually contributes to a healthier and more efficient rental housing ecosystem, emphasizing that landlords have the autonomy to set their own rent prices and can reject the recommendations provided by the software.

This lawsuit is the latest example of the Biden administration’s assertive antitrust enforcement efforts.

For more information on recent antitrust lawsuits, you can read about the Apple lawsuit filed in March or the sweeping lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment in May. Antitrust enforcers have also launched investigations into the roles of Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI in the artificial intelligence industry.